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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The Polish government has appealed to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to reverse its decision to exclude Poland from its European roaming area. It says that Polish users, who will now face greater costs when travelling, should not be treated as “second-tier customers”.
Starlink, which provides users with portable terminals that act as receivers for internet connections from its network of satellites, offers a “Roam” service that lets customers continue using their connection outside their home country without extra charges as long as they remain within their designated region.
One region is Europe, in which Starlink has included 36 countries and territories. However, the firm makes clear that “Poland is not included in the Europe region”, meaning users registered in that country are not included in the Roam system.
Starlink’s list of countries and territories in its Europe roaming region, with a note confirming Poland’s exclusion
The company offered no explanation for Poland’s exclusion from the system. Some media reports have suggested that it is because terminals registered in Poland are used in Ukraine. However, Ukraine is itself not included in Starlink’s European “Roam” region.
The company’s decision prompted an angry response from Polish government ministers. “I do not agree with a global technology company treating Poles worse than other Europeans,” wrote digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.
“If Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to operate in Poland, benefit from the Polish market, and earn from Polish customers, it must treat them fairly and on equal terms,” he added. “That is why I have appealed to SpaceX for the urgent restoration of equal terms for the company’s Polish customers.”
Nie zgadzam się, żeby globalna firma technologiczna traktowała Polki i Polaków gorzej niż innych Europejczyków.
Jeżeli @SpaceX @Elon Musk chce działać w Polsce, korzystać z polskiego rynku i zarabiać na polskich klientach, musi ich traktować uczciwie i na równych zasadach.
Od…
— Krzysztof Gawkowski (@KGawkowski) August 12, 2026
Meanwhile, foreign minister Radosław Sikorski revived a dispute he had with Musk last year over the provision of Starlink terminals to Ukraine during its war with Russia. That dispute saw Musk tell Sikorski to “be quiet, small man”.
“Hey, Elon Musk, big man,” wrote Sikorski today on X, “stop discriminating [against] Polish users of Starlink or we might re-think paying you $50 million p.a. for your services.”
The latter was a reference to the fact that Poland spends around $50 million a year to help provide Starlink services for Ukraine.
Hey, @elonmusk, big man, stop discriminating Polish users of Starlink or we might re-think paying you $50 million p.a. for your services.
— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) August 12, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Photo by Evgeny Opanasenko/Unsplash
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
