Starlink’s use in Spain is a result of the blackout

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Elon Musk’s Starlink was the first choice for Spanish and Portuguese internet and mobile users on Monday as a widespread blackout in Iberia exposed weaknesses in telecoms networks.

Financial Times data shows that the use of Starlink satellite communication service increased by 35 cents above the average during the period when the coverage for telecoms dropped in both countries. On Tuesday, usage was 60% above average in Spain as mobile networks struggled.

Luke Kehoe of Ookla, an internet access analyst, said that the data showed “record” usage of Starlink across the country, with “thousands of” people using the service. However, the company refused to give exact figures.

During the blackout the Starlink service was not interrupted, he said. While Starlink ground station service may have been lost in some areas of mainland Spain, connections to other countries including Italy were still possible.

In the future, it’s unlikely that satellite coverage could be so widespread as to provide coverage for millions during a blackout event. The service is only available if the mobile device has enough battery power.

Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica has said it does not know the exact cause of the outage, which some experts have linked to the inability of Spain’s electricity grid to manage an unusually high supply of solar power.

The power outage in Spain and Portugal severely affected the traditional mobile coverage, which led to calls to make Spain’s mobile networks more resilient.

Ookla discovered that network consistency, which is a measure of service reliability fell to half its normal rate as early as Monday afternoon.

The loss of electricity knocked many thousands of mobile antennas out of service across Spain, with only those that had backup generators operating.

“Too few resources were available to too many people.” Claudio Fiandrino explained that during the recovery phase, it was difficult to maintain connectivity.

Some telecoms networks have backup generation, but they are limited in their use.

Vodafone España said that backup generators had kicked in at 70 per cent of its sites in Spain when the outage began. Even at 11pm many regions were still experiencing low mobile traffic. Galicia, Castilla La Mancha, and Murcia, for example, had only 20% coverage.

Telefónica, another large provider, said it “prioritised critical infrastructures for emergency services and hospitals by rationalising resource use” during the power outages, restoring 95 per cent of its mobile network within just over 24 hours and “full normality” by Thursday.

Kehoe from Ookla said that Spain, Portugal and other countries are not “unique” in having few battery backup generators within the mobile grid.

A recent report from Ofcom in the UK found that, for short blackouts, two-thirds would be able make emergency calls for a minimum of one hour thanks to backup generators for about a fifth mast sites.

Fewer than five percent of these sites offer backups of at least six hours. It would cost around £1bn to upgrade mobile networks to ensure four hours of access to contact emergency services for almost all people, Ofcom found.

The February issue of the Ofcom report revealed that telecoms companies said the costs associated with providing backup were “prohibitive”. report.

Kehoe noted that Spanish and Portuguese telecom companies operate on “very narrow margins” as a result of the low prices. It is therefore harder to invest in resilience in Spain and Portugal than in Scandinavia, for instance, where the average revenue per customer is higher, and backup generation is more robust.

Although the outage in Spain was unprecedented, the government has been focusing on improving the resilience of the telecoms network due to increasing extreme weather conditions.

Operators in Norway must provide battery backup for two hours per city and four hours per rural area. Australia has provided public grants to operators who provide battery backup for 12 hours in remote areas.

Grace Nelson is an analyst with Assembly Research in the UK. She said: “The causes of the Spanish power outage remain unknown, but it’s likely that its size will be a clear call for governments and regulators alike to pay attention on resilience.”

Kieran Smith provides additional reporting