Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski threatened to reconsider the country’s spending on Starlink satellite communications, namely the nearly $50 million per year that Poland spends on Starlink terminals for Ukraine.
"Hey, Elon Musk, big man, stop discriminating Polish users of Starlink or we might re-think paying you $50 million p.a. for your services," Sikorski wrote on X.
He was reacting to Starlink’s decision to exclude Poland from a common European roaming zone covering more than 30 countries, including Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Lithuania, Politico reported. In this zone, users can transport terminals between countries without additional restrictions on international use. Polish customers will instead now face additional requirements when traveling abroad.
"Note: Poland is not included in the Europe region above. Accounts registered in Poland are treated as Poland-only for home-country use," Starlink’s current guidelines say.
Poland’s Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski also criticized SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company. He said Polish customers cannot be treated as "second-class customers" and called for an explanation of exactly which local regulations prompted the new restrictions.
The new rules apply to new Polish customers as of July 14 and will also apply to existing Starlink users starting August 17.
As Politico said, this is not the first time Sikorski and Musk have clashed over Starlink. Last year, Musk told the Polish minister to "be quiet, little man" after Sikorski warned that Warsaw could seek alternative providers for the satellite service it funds for Ukraine.
