Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest.
They were met with gunfire, and the shooters escaped, leaving behind an increasingly familiar find for authorities: Starlink internet units. Starlink, a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has almost 4,000 low-orbit satellites lined up across the skies, connecting people in remote corners of the Amazon and providing a crucial advantage to Ukranian forces on the battlefield.
The lightweight, high-speed internet system has also proved a new and valuable tool for Brazil’s illegal miners, with reliable service for coordinating logistics, receiving advance warning of law enforcement raids and making payments without flying back to the city.
.An untold number of the highly portable Starlink terminals could have been taken with miners as they fled sites into the rainforest.Illegal miners have long used the internet to communicate and coordinate, but until now that entailed sending a technician, usually by plane, to install a heavy, fixed antenna that cannot be carried off whenever mining sites move or are raided.
Starlink – which first became available in Brazil last year and has spread rapidly – solved these problems. Installation is do-it-yourself, the equipment works even on the move, speed is as fast as in Brazil´s large cities and it even works during storms.
“Super excited to be in Brazil for launch of Starlink for 19,000 unconnected schools in rural areas and environmental monitoring of Amazon,” Musk tweeted at the time. That project with the Brazilian government, however, hasn’t advanced.
SpaceX and the communications ministry haven’t signed any contract, and only three terminals were installed in Amazon schools for a 12-month trial period, the ministry’s press office said in an emailed response to questions.
He bought a second terminal for his tour boat. Up until now, passengers even on his 10-day voyages have had to do without any communications. If something were amiss, no one would know until the boat failed to arrive on time. With high demand for internet, dozens of the riverside town’s 21,000 residents flock to Alves’ hotel each day. Its balcony is a meeting point for teenagers who spend hours playing online games on their phones.
“It made a revolution in our city,” Alves said. A world away, in Ukraine, Starlink has yielded advantages on the battlefield in its war with Russia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about personal safety.
An unauthorized reseller of Starlink in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state that is the gateway for travel into Yanomami territory, has been marketing the units in a WhatsApp group for illegal miners and promising same-day delivery. Her price for a terminal is USD 1,600, with monthly installments of USD 360 — six times what Alves pays for service at his little hotel in Atalaia do Norte.