Starlink to Launch Satellite Internet Services in Kazakhstan

Starlink, the satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is set to roll out its services in Kazakhstan starting in the third quarter of 2025.

The country’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry confirmed that a formal agreement has been signed with Starlink.

The deal ensures that the company will operate in line with Kazakhstan’s national regulations on telecommunications and information security.

With this agreement, Kazakhstani users can now legally purchase and connect Starlink satellite terminals. Until now, the service had operated only in pilot mode, providing internet access exclusively to schools.

“Starlink was not previously available to the public. Now, after reaching this agreement, the company has committed to fully comply with our legislation on information security and communications,” said Digital Development Minister Jaslan Madiev.

The initiative is part of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s directive under the national project Accessible Internet, which aims to close the digital divide. The project focuses on underserved areas, such as mountain villages, remote pastures, schools, and healthcare facilities, where laying fiber-optic infrastructure is logistically or economically impractical.

Starlink’s technology uses a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, positioned approximately 550 kilometers above the Earth, to deliver high-speed broadband with low latency, even in rural and hard-to-reach locations.

Kazakhstan’s engagement with Starlink began in 2023 when the government, frustrated by the lack of progress from domestic telecom operators, initiated direct negotiations with SpaceX. Then-Minister Bagdat Musin announced a partnership to provide internet connectivity to 2,000 rural schools..

“Lauren Dreyer and I informed the President that in schools where students only receive 4 megabits per second through outdated satellite dishes, we would bridge the gap within six months. Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of SpaceX and Elon Musk’s deputy, confirmed Starlink’s commitment,” Musin said at the Digital Bridge forum.

By April 2024, 447 rural schools were connected via Starlink. By July, that number had risen to 1,729.