The Office of the Regulator has issued an order seeking the immediate cease of the use of terminal kits and service plans provided by Starlink satellites in Samoa. 

The order issued this month is effective immediately and it follows allegations of unauthorised use by Starlink. It is believed that the company has not followed the required regulatory process to provide service in Samoa.

According to the Regulator, the service provider poses a risk to public safety, national security, and the integrity of Samoa’s telecommunications infrastructure.

"Such unauthorised use constitutes a violation of Telecommunications Radio Equipment Technical Standards and Type Approval Rules 2018, and Telecommunications License approvals of the OOTR," the order says. 

"Continued unauthorised use of Starlink services poses a risk to public safety, national security, and the integrity of Samoa's telecommunications infrastructure."

The order is to immediately cease all use of unauthorised Starlink kits and services within Samoa. 

This includes but is not limited to disconnecting any operational kits and refraining from further activation or installation. 

Violation of the order may result in significant penalties including confiscation of unauthorised equipment, suspension or revocation of licenses for service providers involved, and legal action to enforce compliance. 

The Acting Regulator, Venus Iosefa-Salanoa signed off the order. 

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by private aerospace company SpaceX owned by Elon Musk, providing coverage to over 71 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023.

SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of early January 2024, it consists of over 5,289 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that communicate with designated ground transceivers.

Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000. SpaceX announced reaching more than 1 million subscribers in December 2022, 1.5 million subscribers in May 2023, and 2 million subscribers in September 2023.

Many believe that Starlink is unsafe as information through the use of this service is being stolen for purposes of spying.