Starlink in the Falklands – a concern answered

13th June 2025: The Starlink Petition Group sent the following letter, raising concerns about the government’s press release regarding the change to VSAT policies announced on June 10 2025, 2025. The letter and the response can be seen below.

Subject: Privacy Concerns Regarding Sure’s Role in Starlink User Identification

“The Starlink Petition Group wishes to raise a concern regarding a statement in the recent guidance issued alongside the changes to VSAT licensing, as reported in this week’s issue of Penguin News.

To be clear, we are satisfied with the intended application of to-be-defined “enforcement policies” and the following guidance once legal Starlink operation is permitted. “Enforcement action would begin one month after VSAT licences are available.”

While we appreciate the forward-looking intent, we were disappointed by the tone of this statement. Referencing “enforcement” at a moment of progress and community optimism feels unnecessarily bureaucratic and heavy-handed. It risks undermining public trust in what has been a collective effort to secure a legal framework for Starlink access. It is worth recalling that the formation of the Starlink Petition Group was itself a response to the Attorney General’s statement on 24 May 2024, which included the following: “Reports have been made of individuals using Starlink without the necessary licence… The offence carries a maximum fine of £125,000.”

More specifically, our concern now centres on the following seemingly casual statement: “The Regulator will work closely with Sure and Starlink to ensure that only those with VSAT licences, or those who are licence exempt, are accessing services from Starlink.”

While “working with Starlink” is a reasonable and expected action, in line with Starlink’s own Privacy Policy, which allows for the disclosure of user data when required by law, the inclusion of Sure South Atlantic in this context raises serious ethical and practical concerns.

Sure South Atlantic has consistently opposed the approval of Starlink services in the Falkland Islands. It has no known relationship or legal authority to interact with Starlink. Thus, any contribution Sure might make toward identifying users would presumably rely on data gathered through its own operations, such as:

1. Noting customers who have cancelled or downgraded broadband packages
2. Observations made by engineers in the course of fieldwork
3. Proactive Spectrum analysis conducted near homes or businesses
4. Reports from informants

We are deeply concerned that any such data, whether actively collected or informally gathered, could be used to profile Starlink users. Even if a Data Protection Ordinance is not currently in force, the use of such information in this manner would, in our view, represent a serious breach of privacy and public trust.

Given Sure South Atlantic’s commercial interest and historical record in limiting competition, its involvement in identifying Starlink users presents an inherent conflict of interest. We urge the Government to consider whether this undermines the impartiality of enforcement actions.

Confidentiality and ethical data handling are foundational to maintaining community confidence. Even the perception of inappropriate data-sharing could have long-lasting consequences. For this reason, we respectfully request clarification and, if necessary, a retraction or revision of the statement suggesting collaboration with Sure in identifying Starlink users.

We would welcome a formal statement from the Government affirming that no resident will be subject to a threat of enforcement action based on unverified or informally gathered data from non-Starlink sources, and that any such actions will rely solely on lawful, transparent, and accountable processes.

We look forward to an appropriate response and hope for a position that reaffirms the Government’s commitment to privacy, transparency, and trust.

We will publish this email and the response to Starlink Petition Group members when a response is received.

Kind regards, The Starlink Petition Group

June 24th 2025: This is the response from the Falkland Islands Communications Regulator published with her permission.

Thank you for your email raising concerns from the Starlink Petition Group. My response seeks to address your remarks. Please note I am not responding on behalf of the Falkland Islands Government; the Communications Regulator is responsible for enforcement under the Communications Ordinance.

1. The Regulator has an Investigations and Enforcement Policy which has been in place since 2020. You can read it here: https://regulatorfi.org.fk/publications/regulatory-policies/119-direction-and-enforcement-process/file.
2. The policy would be applied independently of any service providers and any enforcement action would be evidence-based and conducted in a fair, transparent and efficient manner.
3. The Regulator is independent and so ‘must not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority’. If a person, whether a licensee or not, has not complied with the Communications Ordinance, the provisions of a licence issued under the Ordinance or the terms and conditions of their licence (if a licensee) then the Regulator may take enforcement action. Enforcement action has been limited whilst the VSAT fee and policy has been under review by the government. Once the law and regulations are settled, it is important that they are upheld and that the public has confidence they will be properly enforced. However, as my enforcement policy states, enforcement is a procedure of last resort and all efforts will be made to avoid enforcement proceedings by encouraging compliance.
4. If the Regulator commences enforcement action, then the Regulator may seek information relevant to that enforcement action from service providers and Sure is obliged to provide that information. Sure is also obligated under part 19 of its licence to ‘notify the Regulator if it becomes aware of or reasonably believes that a breach of the Communications Ordinance is being committed by another person’.
5. If anyone has any questions then please email the Regulator at regulator.telecoms@sec.gov.fk and she is happy to discuss further.

Many thanks, Communications Regulator

Website: https://regulatorfi.org.fk/

June 10th 2015; Falkland Islands radio newscaster announcing the change to VSAT licensing policy and license cost (Thank you, FIRS)

June 13th 2025: Penguin News (Thank you, Penguin News)