With the Internet shut down in Iran, you might wonder how we know as much as we do about what is happening in the country.
It is now emerging that digital activists have long prepared for this day by smuggling in Starlink satellite Internet terminals that are being used now to document the protests taking place around the country.
Since 2022, about 50 000 of the Starlink terminals have been brought into Iran – despite a law that bans them and prohibits unlicensed Internet services.
While the Starlink access provides some communications for Iranians, all other Internet access remains blacked out.
Protests in Tehran have been ongoing since 28 December and more recently spread to other Iranian cities.
On 8 January, the country went offline.