Musk retreats after Poland warns it could rethink Starlink spending
Photo: Poland returns to Starlink's European roaming zone (Getty Images)
Poland is returning to Starlink's European roaming zone, bringing an end to a dispute with SpaceX over new rules for Polish users, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Cieszyński.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski thanked Elon Musk for acknowledging that discrimination against Polish citizens as members of the European Union is unacceptable.
"Thank you, @elonmusk, for recognizing that Poland is in the European Union and its citizens cannot be subjected to discrimination," Sikorski wrote.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Janusz Cieszyński confirmed that Poland is returning to Starlink's European roaming zone.
Photo: List of countries in the Starlink zone, including Poland (x.com/jciesz)
"Sometimes, instead of writing threats on X, it's worth writing to the people who helped sort out Starlinks in 2022," Cieszyński said.
Poland recently threatened to review its spending on Starlink, which amounts to about $50 million a year.
A dispute over new roaming rules prompted the move. Under the updated terms, Poland was removed from Starlink's broader European zone, which covers more than 30 countries.
The issue also directly affected Ukraine. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Poland has provided Ukraine with more than 29,000 Starlink terminals and continues to fund their operation.
