Space-based internet is supposed to be the ultimate equalizer, beaming high-speed connectivity to even the most remote corners of the globe. But what happens when the CEO of your internet service provider decides to impose a hard speed limit?
That’s a good question, and we’re seeing the answer play out in real time. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of the military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine's military.
The move effectively blinded fast-moving strike and interceptor drones, rendering Ukraine unable to defend itself against Russia's attacks.
There is a messy political blame game happening right now between Musk, the Pentagon and the White House over who actually gave the order. Last Wednesday, Musk claimed that Starshield — the military application of Starlink — is controlled by the U.S. government.
Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS. Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.October 14, 2026
However, on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that “We haven’t made any directives or anything like that," according to the Journal.
Still, the Journal's report also says that Musk spoke with members of the administration, including Trump, before initiating the speed cap.
Tom’s tech explainer: A 99-mph speed limit
The restrictions reportedly imposed on the Starlink network were very specific: they targeted velocity.
According to Michael Kofman, a war expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who was quoted in the WSJ article, the connection was throttled for devices traveling more than 99 miles per hour.
You might be wondering how an internet provider knows how fast your device is moving (I was confused too). Starlink dishes aren’t dumb antennas. To maintain a connection with satellites flying overhead in Low Earth Orbit, the dish has to constantly calculate its own position.
This is done with GPS to report exact coordinates and speed back to SpaceX’s servers. And because Starlink always knows these coordinates on a near-real-time basis, it is very simple for the company to write a software rule that says: “if this dish travels faster than a standard car on the highway, throttle the connection.”
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