From August 17, SpaceX is tightening roaming rules for Polish Starlink accounts, including terminals used by volunteers and the military in Ukraine.
According to Money.pl.
Poland has been excluded from the list of countries in the service’s “European zone,” so devices taken out of the country can operate continuously abroad for no more than 30 days. After this, owners will need to verify their identity and undergo additional checks or switch to a more expensive international tariff. The “European zone” of Starlink, where travel between countries is not considered use abroad, includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania, and most EU countries.
SpaceX has not officially explained the reasons for the changes. In Poland, they are associated with a public conflict between Musk and Foreign Minister Sikorski over the funding of Starlink for Ukraine. At the same time, the change may be related to an attempt to control the resale of terminals and their misuse.
The new rules will not apply to terminals that the Polish government has centrally transferred to Ukraine under state and corporate contracts. Available data indicates that Poland purchased over 20,000 Starlink terminals for Ukraine at its own expense and pays for their usage monthly. The changes will only affect private and volunteer terminals with Polish accounts used in Ukraine in roaming.
Recall, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, after his dismissal, tries to continue contacts with Elon Musk through unofficial channels. Ukraine needs SpaceX’s help to destroy Russia’s ballistic launch installations.
