Starlink Halts New Sign-Ups in Indonesia After Hitting Network Capacity

Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet venture under SpaceX, has suspended new customer registrations in Indonesia due to overwhelming demand that has maxed out its network capacity. The MOVE highlights the country's acute need for reliable connectivity, particularly in its remote regions where traditional infrastructure falls short.

Indonesia's unique geography—a sprawling archipelago of over 17,000 islands—makes it an ideal market for satellite internet solutions. Yet this same terrain complicates the rollout of fiber-optic networks, leaving vast swaths of the population underserved. Starlink's pause on new activations underscores both the potential and the pitfalls of satellite-based connectivity in emerging markets.

The suspension comes amid ongoing regulatory friction, with local internet service providers resisting foreign incursion into Indonesia's telecom sector. This tension mirrors broader challenges facing global satellite internet deployments, where capacity constraints frequently collide with surging demand.