A SpaceX rocket carrying Starlink satellites after launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida. There are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service. Reuters
A SpaceX rocket carrying Starlink satellites after launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida. There are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service. Reuters
A SpaceX rocket carrying Starlink satellites after launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida. There are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service. Reuters
A SpaceX rocket carrying Starlink satellites after launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida. There are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service. Reuters

Elon Musk's Starlink goes live in Bahrain


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
  • Arabic

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service has been activated in another Middle East and North Africa country, continuing its recent run of providing advanced communications in the region.

The company, a subsidiary of Texas-based SpaceX, said in an X post on Friday that its services have been activated in Bahrain, after Oman in March and Jordan in April.

Bahrain joins Oman, Qatar and Yemen as Middle East countries with access to the service.

Kuwait is also expected to have Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet service at some point in 2025, according to Starlink’s website.

The satellite internet service is coming soon in Saudi Arabia's aviation and maritime sectors too, Mr Musk revealed in Riyadh this week, as part of US President Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf.

While it is not available in the UAE, Starlink in 2023 had teamed up with Dubai-based marine electronics company Elcome International to provide internet services to the maritime industry.

The kingdom and the Emirates are listed as "pending regulatory approval", according to Starlink's website.

Starlink is hastening its growth as it pushes to gain a bigger foothold of the market and try to fend off rising competition.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a satellite constellation service that provides internet access using satellites that orbit the planet at between heights of 200km and 2,000km.

For perspective, the International Space Station is at 408km, while Hubble Space Telescope is at 547km.

The service provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet. Within each coverage area, orders are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.

How fast is Starlink?

Starlink users "typically experience" download speeds between 25 and 220Mbps, with a majority of users experiencing speeds over 100Mbps, according to its website.

The company intends to reach speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

Latest figures show that there are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service − with the company aiming for a total of 42,000.

The launch of more satellites and fine-tuning of the service is expected to increase speeds further.

How does satellite internet differ from 5G service?

To have access to the internet using a 5G connection − or any broadband connection − you need to be within range of a cell tower. The closer you are, the better and faster your connection should be.

With a satellite, you can gain access to the internet, even in the middle of nowhere.

And, in terms of speed, this is a no-contest as 5G, which is up to 20 times faster than 4G, can provide download speeds of anywhere between 1Gbps to 10Gbps, depending on how close you are to a cell tower.

Starlink's planned top speed is at the low end of 5G at this point.

How much is a Starlink subscription?

Starlink has two main subscription categories: personal and business.

Based on US pricing, under personal, there's residential, with monthly plans at $80 and $120, and roam, costing $50 and $165 for unlimited data.

In business, the local priority tier ranges from $65 to $540, while the top-tier global priority – "best for maritime and global connectivity" – starts at $250 and tops out at $2,150.

These fees are in addition to hardware costs – routers, cables, etc. – which start at $349.

Does Starlink have any competitors?

Yes. In the US, it is up against Viasat and HughesNet, both veterans in the industry, having been founded in 1986 and 1971, respectively.

And, of course, there's Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos has been challenging Mr Musk in the space race.

In its latest move, Mr Bezos launched the first 27 internet satellites of Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation in April.

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GRAN%20TURISMO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs

Engine: 5-litre V8

Gearbox: eight-speed automatic

Power: 420hp

Torque: 505Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km

Price: Dh260,500

Ahmed Raza

UAE cricket captain

Age: 31

Born: Sharjah

Role: Left-arm spinner

One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95

T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28

Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

How Filipinos in the UAE invest

A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.

Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).

Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

Updated: May 16, 2025, 2:39 PM`