[tracer4201]

This is an interesting notion and one I never thought about before - there is nothing preventing another state from beaming internet down to citizens of Iran (or any other nation that shuts down internet but lacks technology to shoot down a satellite...

If Elon Musk was to put satellites over Iran, what kind of ground infrastructure would be required for someone to connect? Can it be a radio that fits in ones pocket but can easily be connected via USB or some other ubiquitous interface? The goal here is to have something so easy to hide and transport that the government can maybe find it from 50% of the population at best.

[ISL]

It is hard to hide when you are transmitting RF. Even with beamforming, there will be sidelobes.

[mycall]

Maybe hiding doesn't matter. Of course, signal jamming isn't hard to achieve.

[marcosdumay]

For bidirectional data, yes. But a foreign country can broadcast easily.

[wcoenen]

> Can it be a radio that fits in ones pocket

No, Starlink will use a phased array antenna that has been described as being the size of a pizza box.

Iridium GO! devices are small and already exist, but you'll pay exorbitant prices for very low speeds.

[cartoonworld]

I don't know, but I would imagine Iridium service is embargoed.

[angott]

Satellite is also relatively easy to jam, like GPS.