(Reuters) – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Wednesday it has provided 5,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals to the Government of Ukraine in partnership with Elon Musk-founded SpaceX.
Starlink’s terminals help a user connect to the internet through the company’s constellation of satellites without the need for a cable connection.
The U.S. agency said SpaceX donated 3,667 terminals and the internet service itself, while USAID purchased the remaining 1,333 terminals.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last month the country would get additional Starlink terminals, having spoken with Elon Musk.
Musk had said in late February Starlink’s internet service was activated in Ukraine.
While expensive to deploy, satellite technology can provide internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
