Elon Musk writes: "This post was made from a normal mobile phone straight to a SpaceX satellite, with no special equipment in between!"

ELON MUSK sent a post to X yesterday that says: "This post was made from a normal mobile phone straight to a SpaceX satellite, with no special equipment in between!" The historic post dated 6:33 AM Feb 26, 2024 has 25.4M views as at 21:28 GMT Tue Feb 27, 2024.

This post was made from a normal mobile phone straight to a SpaceX satellite, with no special equipment in between! https://t.co/rjry9vr5zj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2024

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Note, SpaceX sent a post to X yesterday (33 minutes earlier than Mr Musk's) saying: "This post was sent through a SpaceX Direct to Cell satellite in space." The historic post dated 6:00 AM GMT Feb 26, 2024 has 27.3M views as at 21:29 GMT Tue Feb 27, 2024. 

This post was sent through a SpaceX Direct to Cell satellite in space 🛰️

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 26, 2024

POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor

Warmest congrats to all involved. Now people in Sudan need to know how they can get the exciting new service on their existing mobile phones, how much it costs, and how and where, and to whom, to pay. 

Right now, in some areas of Sudan civilians are charged extortionate prices to make calls using a Starlink device set up by rebels at illegal checkpoints.

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Further Reading

IMAGE and caption by RichQuack@RichQuack 6:04 AM · Feb 26, 2024:

Caption: SpaceX Sends its Text Messages 

Via Direct-to-Cell Starlink Satellites - Via Satellite

See original (92.8K Views so far): https://twitter.com/RichQuack/status/1761995521692987792

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Copy of a post at X by El-Mahdi @arelmahdi 8:13 PM · Feb 27, 2024:

“I just spoke to someone on WhatsApp who's in an RSF controlled area and she tells me they can access the internet at some of the RSF checkpoints which have a Starlink connection and get access for 1 hour for a fee of 5000 SDG (approx. 4USD). 

So apparently, Starlink is becoming a source of supplementary income (besides looting and salary) for soldiers at RSF checkpoints. Doubt they'll want to see the telecoms networks back up and running in areas under their control.”

See original: https://twitter.com/arelmahdi/status/1762571749596504390

H/t Cameron Hudson @_hudsonc Feb 8 2024:

“Network blackout cuts communications for millions in war-torn Sudan. Of course, RSF are getting around internet cutoffs by using Starlink, procured in Chad and Libya. Im detecting a pattern…”

See original: https://twitter.com/arelmahdi/status/1762571749596504390

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Copy of a post at X by Sadeia @sadiea8 2:51 PM · Feb 27, 2024:

“The local authorities in El Geneina - West Darfur impose fees on satellite internet devices (Starlink) of 150,000 pounds on everyone who owns a device and uses it for commercial purposes, in addition to service fees of 50,000 pounds annually.

Anyone who violates the provisions of this decision will be subject to a fine of 500,000 pounds, or one month in prison, or both.”

See original: https://twitter.com/sadiea8/status/1762490632654684535

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Sudan Watch - February 10, 2024

URGENT MESSAGE to Sir Tim Berners-Lee: The internet belongs to everyone including the Sudanese

People in Sudan are suffering after decades of war. Now their internet has been shut for several days. It was hard enough for them to keep going during bombings while managing patchy electricity.

In most parts of Sudan, banks, shops, businesses, churches and infrastructure have been destroyed. The Sudanese depend on the internet to receive money for food, medicine, electricity, calls for news and help. 

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/urgent-message-to-sir-tim-berners-lee.html

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Sudan Watch - November 20, 2023

SpaceX is advertising a position for growth manager of its Starlink Internet service in Sub-Saharan Africa

SpaceX is advertising a job vacancy for a manager to boost Starlink growth in Africa. The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, from where the growth manager will report to a team at Starlink’s Hawthorne, California headquarters.

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/11/spacex-is-advertising-position-for.html

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END

Sudan & South Sudan: UN struggles to cope with thousands of daily arrivals in transit centres in Renk

STAFF at the UN-run transit centres in Renk, South Sudan, help exhausted people to travel onwards to their final destinations in the hope of avoiding large numbers staying in this extremely remote, poorly resourced region. 

There’s hardly any water, food, sanitation, security or shelter. Many of the thousands who have crossed the border from Sudan are vulnerable and traumatised. They fled terrible violence and have spent weeks, in some cases months, trying to cross into South Sudan to reach safety. 

Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan last April, the influx of people fleeing Sudan increased sharply at multiple border points. More than half a million have crossed the South Sudan border, according to UN estimates. 

Read more from UN News
Dated Friday, 23 February 2024 - here is a copy of the report in full:

Sudan: UN struggles to cope with thousands of daily arrivals in South Sudan transit camps

© IOM/Elijah Elaigwu. Sudanese refugees in the UN-run transit centre in Renk, South Sudan.

South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is dealing with the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from its northern neighbour, Sudan, which has been in the grip of a major conflict between the government and the Rapid Support Forces since April of last year.

Since the outbreak of fighting, the influx of people fleeing Sudan has increased sharply at multiple border points, and more than half a million individuals have crossed the South Sudan border, according to UN estimates.

At the UN-run transit centres in Renk, staff are helping exhausted individuals to travel onwards to their final destinations in the hope of avoiding large numbers staying in this extremely remote, poorly resourced part of the country.

Yvonne Ndege, a spokesperson with the UN migration agency, IOM, travelled to Renk to assess the conditions in the camp. 

She described the scene to Ben Malor from UN News.

Yvonne Ndege: This is one of the most remote parts of South Sudan. There’s hardly any water, food, sanitation, security or shelter. Many of the thousands of people who have crossed the border from Sudan are vulnerable and traumatized. They fled terrible violence and have spent weeks, in some cases months, trying to cross into South Sudan to reach safety.

UN News: How is the UN helping those arriving in Renk?

Yvonne Ndege: Hundreds of thousands of people have been assisted by the UN migration agency to continue moving to other destinations. This assistance is critical because what IOM and other UN agencies don’t want is for refugee camps to spring up in this location as it is so remote. There is no infrastructure, no medical facilities or resources of any kind for those vulnerable arrivals.

This has involved IOM putting on over 1,200 flights away from Renk to Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state. It has also involved sea transportation, and we have helped over 100,000 to take boats to Malakal, which is a three-day journey overnight on the River Nile.

We have also assisted people with some road transportation to try to reach their communities of origin, but when you look at the volume of people arriving, this assistance is not enough, and the funds to continue to provide this onward transport assistance are dwindling and running out fast.

© IOM/Elijah Elaigwu. Sudanese refugees in the UN-run transit centre in Renk, South Sudan.

UN News: What have the displaced people been telling you about their experiences?

Yvonne Ndege: The conditions that they describe are completely horrific. Some say they fled violence and bullets, spending several days in the bush trying to reach the border. Others say they experienced sexual violence along the journey. We spoke to one family, a mother with her two daughters and her own mother, who travelled all the way from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to reach this border and cross into safety. She was very traumatized and upset. We spoke to another man, who said that his whole family, he and his sons, were being forced to actually join the fighting and take part in the violence. They didn’t want to, so they spent weeks trying to get here.

UN News: How serious are the risks of disease or hunger?

Yvonne Ndege: IOM staff have been providing medical checks and vaccinations to those arriving before they are transported to the main town of Renk for further assistance and care, but there are massive concerns about the risk of disease, hunger and further violence. There’s hardly any infrastructure in this remote area, no internet or mobile network of any kind and no food or water supplies. So, the risks are real.

♦ Receive daily updates directly in your inbox - Subscribe here to a topic.

♦ Download the UN News app for your iOS or Android devices.

   

View original here: https://news.un.org/en/interview/2024/02/1146907

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NetBlocks: Major internet disruption in Chad, severed fibre optic cable supplying Chad from Cameroon

THIS copy of a post at X by NetBlocks date stamped 6:19 PM Feb 12, 2024 says “Confirmed: A major internet disruption had been registered in Chad; real time network data show connectivity falling down to 41% of ordinary levels; The incident is attributed to severed fiber infrastructure supplying Chad from Cameroon #Tchad pic.twitter.com/dsq8ltHBtO” 

⚠️ Confirmed: A major internet disruption had been registered in Chad; real time network data show connectivity falling down to 41% of ordinary levels; The incident is attributed to severed fiber infrastructure supplying Chad from Cameroon #Tchad pic.twitter.com/dsq8ltHBtO

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 12, 2024

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Sudan hit by internet blackout as conflict continues

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This site hasn't had visits from Sudan or S. Sudan in past week. A job seeker in Khartoum wrote in to say he's unable to complete job applications online due to patchy connectivity and electricity. 

The internet and telecoms blackout might not be caused by RSF terrorists. Could be SAF and its allies on the move under cover to retake Aj Jazirah from RSF. Iran, Russia and others are good at hacking too. 

Sudan hit by internet outage: the affected areas include Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, and some Gezira states - mostly areas that are under control of RSF terrorist group. Photo credit: TechReport

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Report at BBC News
By Danai Nesta Kupemba, BBC News 
Dated Wednesday, 7 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan hit by internet blackout as civil war continues

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS. Image caption, Some Sudanese providers have been experiencing problems since Friday

Sudan has been plunged into an internet blackout with many blaming the paramilitary group fighting the army in the country's 10-month civil war.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has denied responsibility.

NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom, said on X, there had been a "new collapse of internet connectivity" in Sudan.

It comes as a Sudanese hacktivist group targeted Uganda for welcoming the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

NetBlocks said it had found a disruption to the services of internet providers Uganda Telecom and MTN, although a BBC reporter in the capital Kampala said he did not notice any problems.

In Sudan, some people have reported being unable to access the internet since Friday but the situation has since got even worse.

State-aligned media have blamed the RSF.

However, according to the Sudan Tribune news site, an RSF official accused the army of issuing direct orders to sever communication in parts of Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira states, which are largely under the control of the paramilitary group.

NetBlocks said on Wednesday that the one of the major mobile operators in Sudan, Zain, was "largely offline".

In a statement posted on Facebook, Zain said that it was "working under very difficult, harsh, and dangerous circumstances".

It added that the "current network outage is due to circumstances beyond its will".

Two other providers, South African-owned MTN Sudan and state-owned Sudani, were operating at zero on Friday, according to NetBlocks.

The network outage adds another layer of hardship to a nation at war.

In response to the ongoing conflict, the United Nations has appealed for $4.1bn (£3.25bn) to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those in Sudan and people who have been forced to flee their homes.

At least nine million people have been displaced, while some 25 million - half the entire population - need assistance, the UN says. 

"Ten months of conflict have robbed the people of Sudan of nearly everything - their safety, their homes and their livelihoods," said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths.

He added that the situation in Sudan needed to be addressed with a "heightened sense of urgency".

More stories on Sudan:

• ‘Our lives have become a piece of hell in Sudan’
• My family buried my grandmother while ducking bullets
• 'I saw bodies dumped in Sudan mass grave'
• Why Sudan's descent into violence matters

Related Topics

Sudan

Around the BBC

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View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68228340

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