Pray and Advocate for Accessible Starlink in Burma: Urging SpaceX and U.S. Leaders to Keep the Internet Open for Humanitarian Work in Burma

Rangers installing a Starlink terminal in Burma.

The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian organization providing frontline medical relief, emergency aid, human rights documentation, and support to civilians caught in conflict in Burma (Myanmar) and other conflict zones. The U.N. estimates that 3.8 million people have been forced from their homes due to the war in Burma. It is a huge task even before accounting for two large obstacles: geography and the Burma Army.

The Burma Army has violently oppressed the people of Burma since 1948. Rather then restrict their attacks to legitimate targets, they attack civilian populations as often as resistance forces. Unsurprisingly, they treat humanitarian groups as enemies as well, and have killed dozens of our Rangers.

The regions we serve are on the undeveloped and war-torn periphery of Burma. We can't depend on local resources to sustain our operations. We are forced to use alternative means for supply, transport and communications. Local internet providers, if they even cover the area, are not secure because they are controlled by the military government.

Most internet access in Burma depends on state-controlled or state-monitored institutions, with only a few alternatives outside military control. Starlink has been the most consistent and affordable of these alternatives. The Burma Army uses its control of the national telecom network against resistance forces, civilians, and even humanitarian groups. In many of the areas we serve, Starlink is the only reliable and safe means of communication. Without it, medical teams lose the ability to request specialist advice, coordinate evacuations, or report urgent needs. Lives depend on this connectivity.

Ranger medic uses his cell phone to show doctors on a video call a difficult labor case.

Starlink has proven transformative for humanitarian operations in Burma. FBR currently operates approximately 65 Starlink terminals across our teams and partner networks in Burma. These terminals are essential for:

• Real-time coordination of medical clinics, casualty collection points, and relief distributions in remote and active conflict areas

• Telemedicine support — enabling local medics to receive remote specialist guidance for complex trauma, obstetrics, and surgical cases

• Secure communication between field teams, headquarters, and partners for logistics, security, and patient evacuation

• Documentation and rapid transmission of human rights evidence (photos, video, reports) from areas with no terrestrial connectivity

• Coordination of Good Life Club programs and support to internally displaced people (IDPs)

On August 17, SpaceX/Starlink are making two significant changes to their services in Burma. They are restricting Roam plans to the user's home country. Previously a user could register a Starlink terminal in one country and then use it in another. Now that will no longer be possible. Since Burma has no service agreement with Starlink, Roam plans will stop working in Burma and tens of thousands of terminals have to switch to a new plan or go offline.

Next, the only plan that may keep unrestricted international access, the Priority plan, significantly raises costs for use. Currently, under the Roam plan, we pay $100 per month for unlimited data, with our use at between 250 to 2000 GB a month. The cost for the Priority plan is $250 per month for a 50GB minimum, then $1 per GB after that. At our lowest usage, that would mean $450 per terminal per month. We will be paying nearly five times more for our lowest-use terminals, with costs only going up from there. 

Together these changes end affordable Starlink access inside Burma for everyone, including local ethnic governments, humanitarian organizations, pro-democracy resistance groups, schools, hospitals, and churches.

We ask for your help in two ways.

First, please pray for open and safe internet in Burma. Pray that key decision makers see the damage this policy change will cause. Pray that their minds are changed and that they are inspired to help the people of Burma instead. Failing that, pray that God provides another safe and affordable way for people to communicate.

Second, advocate for a humanitarian exemption that restores unrestricted international access and provides nonprofit pricing for humanitarian use. We urge any American reading this to contact your leaders or SpaceX directly to encourage Starlink to avoid these disastrous changes.

Click on the link here to find your state's representatives and their contact information. Or you can email SpaceX directly at info@spacex.com. At the bottom of this message, we have included a sample letter for you to use. 

Please join us in petitioning your representatives and SpaceX to keep Starlink open and in prayer that God will make a way for lifesaving communication in Burma to continue.

Thank you and God bless you,

The Free Burma Rangers

**Check at the bottom of this message for a sample letter to copy for your use.**

Without Starlink chains of short distance hand radios are the only viable alternative for average people.

[Appropriate Greeting]

I respectfully request that SpaceX / Starlink provide a pathway for recognized humanitarian and non-profit organizations operating in conflict zones — including the Free Burma Rangers — to maintain reliable service. Specifically, I'm seeking:

1. Direct recognition of humanitarian and non-profit actors as legitimate users for continuity of Starlink service in Burma.

2. A sustainable pricing structure or non-profit / humanitarian rate that makes continued high-volume operation viable (recognizing that for many critical services in Burma such as hospitals and schools, Starlink is the only safe option).

3. Clear, stable registration and compliance pathways that do not force reliance on third-country registrations or risk sudden service interruption.

Most internet access in Burma depends on state-controlled or state-monitored institutions, with only a few alternatives outside military control. Starlink is the most consistent and affordable of those alternatives. The Burma military uses its control of the national telecom network against resistance forces, civilians, and even humanitarian groups. In many of the areas, Starlink is the only reliable and safe means of communication.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Sign your name]

Ranger uses expensive alternative internet device before Starlink came to Burma.