SpaceX has agreed to keep Poland within Starlink’s European roaming region after the country’s foreign minister threatened to reconsider roughly $50 million in annual payments to the company.
The dispute began on 12 Aug. when Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Poland had been excluded from a new European region for the company’s Starlink Roam service. Starlink Roam allows customers to use their Starlink terminal while travelling outside their home location, including across countries grouped within the same region.
According to Gawkowski, the change would have meant additional requirements for Polish customers travelling elsewhere in Europe from 17 August, including reporting trips and verifying their identity.
Gawkowski said he had contacted SpaceX and called on the company to apply the same rules to Polish customers as to customers elsewhere in Europe.
The issue escalated later that same day when Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski addressed SpaceX founder Elon Musk directly on X, threatening to reconsider the $50 million the country pays the company annually for Starlink services in Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference on 13 August, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government had immediately sought an explanation from Starlink and had already received assurances that the matter would be reconsidered.
“The American side, Starlink, is unable to explain to us today what happened,” Tusk said. “Some on their side are suggesting that it is simply an error and that they will fix it.”
Tusk also said the government had sought assurances that the dispute would not affect the Starlink terminals Poland finances for Ukraine.
“Poland’s support for Starlink in Ukraine is also of key importance to Poland’s security, because these Starlink terminals help detect threats from the air more quickly,” he said. “I am therefore also demanding very precise information from the Americans on whether this will have any negative impact on the operation of the Starlink terminals that Poland pays for in Ukraine.”
Tusk said he had received “reassuring answers” but that the government would continue pressing the issue. “I really do not understand how this could have happened, but I hope we will be able to clarify it and that it will turn out simply to have been a misunderstanding.”
Later on 13 August, Gawkowski announced that SpaceX had reversed its decision and would include Poland in Starlink’s intra-European roaming region.
“SpaceX responded to my request and will not treat Polish customers worse than those in other European countries,” Gawkowski said, adding that Polish customers would not be subject to the proposed new restrictions.
