Elon Musk is seeking to expand Starlink’s satellite internet service to Lebanon, following recent discussions between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Musk’s team. This follows an earlier meeting in Beirut, where Lebanese President Aoun and other high-ranking officials met with Sam Turner, Starlink’s Global Director of Licensing and Development, to discuss the potential for satellite internet services in Lebanon. U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson also participated in the discussions (Credit: Reuters, published June 27, 2025).

According to the official statement shared via the Lebanese Presidency’s X account, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X platforms, as well as former advisor to President Trump, expressed interest in Lebanon’s telecommunications and internet sectors. Musk conveyed his desire for his companies to establish a presence in Lebanon, a prospect that President Aoun welcomed. “We will ensure that all possible facilitation will be provided within the framework of Lebanese laws and regulations,” Aoun assured Musk.

This interest in Lebanon’s telecommunications industry highlights the urgent need for infrastructure improvements to drive economic growth—a challenge that entrepreneur Marc Beyrouthy also pointed out. Marc Beyrouthy, an entrepreneur and social innovator in agriculture, emphasised the urgency of addressing Lebanon’s internet infrastructure challenges. As the founder of Made by Nature, a social innovation and e-commerce company focused on revitalising Lebanon’s agricultural and sustainability sectors, Beyrouthy sees reliable internet as crucial for progress.

“For me as an entrepreneur, fast and stable internet is the key to everything,” Beyrouthy said. “We lose a lot of time searching and stressing when we don’t have good internet, and we have to rely on companies that are often affiliated with politicians.”

The country’s fixed-line network still relies on aging infrastructure, and fibre-optic services are only available in select areas. Most parts of Lebanon outside urban centres experience speeds lower than 50 megabits (Mbps), with an average internet speed ranging between 30-40 Mbps. The worst affected areas include regions like Bekaa Valley, North Lebanon and South Lebanon. With limited funding for further upgrades, businesses face significant hurdle.

“The internet infrastructure has long been an impediment to business and innovation in Lebanon,” Beyrouthy continued. “90% of enterprises have to lease microwave lines from the private sector, and the country has virtually no redundancy to the global internet.”

Lebanon has faced long-standing challenges in its telecommunications sector, with some of the lowest internet speeds in the world and a reliance on outdated, state-run infrastructure.

Bakar Mohamad, an Australian-born but Lebanon-based political campaigns researcher and producer, highlighted the significant challenges posed by Lebanon’s infrastructure for professionals working in the region.

“One of the biggest hurdles for many businesses in Lebanon is the country’s unreliable internet infrastructure,” he explained. “Some companies have even developed contingency plans for complete internet blackouts — including relocating operations to neighbouring countries. The introduction of Starlink, a satellite-based internet service that is largely immune to Lebanon’s ongoing connectivity disruptions, offers a critical lifeline.”

A young entrepreneur, who frequently travels across Europe and Lebanon and prefers to remain anonymous, has expressed mixed views on the potential launch of Starlink in Lebanon, suggesting it could be both a breakthrough and a potential risk for the country’s technological landscape.

In a recent conversation, the entrepreneur commented, “Starlink’s entry could represent a major step forward for Lebanon’s struggling tech sector. The country’s internet infrastructure is notoriously unreliable, particularly in rural areas where Ogero services are either unavailable or too expensive due to illegal pricing. Starlink could offer a much-needed solution, making internet access more accessible and potentially attracting more investment into the country.”

In his view, the most pressing concern for some Lebanese residents, according to the entrepreneur, is the potential for cyber surveillance. “Given Musk’s close ties with both the U.S. and Israel, there’s a genuine worry about data sharing,” the entrepreneur explained. “With such connections, it’s not difficult to imagine our data being vulnerable to external surveillance, turning Starlink into yet another tool for monitoring.”

However, the entrepreneur also raised concerns about the broader implications of allowing private companies to control critical infrastructure. “The issue with introducing private infrastructure is that it opens the door to political influence,” they noted. “Ukraine serves as a cautionary tale—Elon Musk initially offered Starlink services for free during the Russian invasion, but later demanded payment, which raises questions about future control over such services.”

Hassan Moussa, Chief Executive Officer of the Arab Council Australia—the first Arab-Australian institute established to support the social welfare, cohesion, and economic sustainability of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa —highlighted the growing pessimism among some members of the diaspora regarding foreign influencers and their role in Israel.

“Given what is happening in the world right now, any further technological advancement is another tool for military dominance and application,” expressed Moussa. “All the tech companies, including Musk’s, as well as Microsoft and Google are all complicit in the current genocide by sharing technology and data.”

George Al-Rahil, President of the Australian-Syrian League, offered another view on the development, expressing hope that it would improve infrastructure for businesses and families in both Lebanon and Syria.

“Starlink could drive innovation in both countries (Lebanon and Syria),” said Al-Rahil. “With Starlink’s arrival in Lebanon, the country’s tech industry could get a significant boost, sparking job growth, digital learning advancements, and innovation fuelled by high-speed internet. For Syria, a country in conflict, Starlink offers a chance to bridge the connectivity gap.”

Musk’s offer comes at a time when Lebanon is desperately seeking solutions to improve its internet connectivity and digital services.

While some Lebanese officials are enthusiastic about the prospect of partnering with Musk, the proposal has sparked scepticism from local stakeholders. Roy Badaro, an economic adviser and public policy consultant based in Lebanon, provided his perspective on the discussions surrounding Musk’s potential involvement in the country’s telecommunications sector. Badaro remarked that certain media outlets had exaggerated Musk’s statements, inflating hopes about the extent of his interest in Lebanon beyond what was actually expressed.

“Some propagandists in the Lebanese media have overstated and inflated Musk’s statement,” shared Badaro.

“In fact, the main interest to both Musk and Lebanon is the internet connectivity through Starlink, which could be extended later on to Syria,” Badaro said.

Badaro’s comments reflect the pragmatic approach many experts in Lebanon are taking to the proposal.

“Starlink’s appeal is that it could provide a reliable internet connection in Lebanon, and also serve as a backup connection in case the domestic internet infrastructure fails for any reason.”

Musk’s interest in Lebanon comes amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region. Last year, Calcalist, an Israeli business and economics daily, reported that the Israeli government was considering the use of Elon Musk’s Starlink network to maintain internet connectivity in the event of an all-out war with Hezbollah along its northern border. According to the report, such a conflict could lead to widespread power outages across Israel, underscoring the growing strategic importance of satellite-based communications during times of crisis (Credit: Reuters, published June 26, 2024).

George Bousamra, President of the Australian Arab Business Council and Director of Syncorp Consulting, is optimistic about this proposed development, particularly for Lebanon’s multilingual workforce. For many, the key to this next phase of innovation lies in the need for reliable infrastructure that will put Lebanon on par with the rest of the world, fuelling the entrepreneurial, learning, and economic interests of the next generation.

“I am optimistic about projects like Starlink investing in Lebanon. The country’s advanced technology capabilities are often understated,” Bousamra shared. “Starlink’s proposed reliable, high-speed internet has the potential to accelerate Lebanon’s digital transformation and could also reverse the ‘brain drain’ of skilled workers leaving the country.”

Lebanon’s future in the digital age may depend on its ability to balance the interests of local telecommunications entities, international investors, and the government’s broader vision for economic growth and modernisation. At the heart of this challenge lies Lebanon’s highly educated, multilingual workforce, which could drive the country’s envisioned digital transformation.