Launch
The State Duma of Russia is considering the issue of fines against individuals and legal entities that intend to use the services of the Western satellite Internet. The future law should, first of all, limit access to the Internet using the Starlink services of SpaceX, OneWeb and other foreign satellite systems.
According to the publication Popular Mechanics, the amount of fines can vary from 10,000 to 30,000 rubles for ordinary users and from 500 thousand to 1 million rubles for legal entities. One of the main reasons for such strict measures is the inability to carry out operational search activities by special services when using foreign satellite Internet. According to lawmakers, all Russian Internet traffic should pass exclusively through Russian-controlled communication providers. One of the main supporters of blocking Starlink is the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin. He has repeatedly criticized NASA and the Pentagon for subsidizing SpaceX through government contracts. As for Starlink, this program, in addition to providing the Internet to the remaining 4% of the Earth's territory not covered by it, will, according to Rogozin, provide uninterrupted communication to US special forces in various regions of the world. The ban on the use of OneWeb looks somewhat strange, since this group of satellites will be put into orbit, including with the help of Russian Soyuz launch vehicles from the Baikonur and Vostochny cosmodromes. In turn, Russia will create its own global communication and remote sensing system "Sphere", which will be based on a grouping of 600 satellites. Its deployment will begin this year and should be completed in 2024.
