Quick Take
Starlink’s rare global outage in July 2025, caused by an internal software failure during a routine update, highlights that even the 'stars' can have a mid‑air software meltdown. Companies should treat satellite internet as a mission‑critical service and plan for glitches with robust redundancy.
Why You Should Care
On July 24, 2025, Starlink experienced one of its most widespread service interruptions since launch, leaving thousands of users, including Ukrainian military units, offline for roughly 2.5 hours. The outage was traced to a configuration error during a routine software update that disrupted key internal network services. This incident underscores that satellite networks, while powerful and far-reaching, are vulnerable to both technical mishaps and unchecked human decision-making at the helm.
What You Should Do Next
Evaluate your dependency on satellite-based networks and invest in multi-provider resilience.
Get Started
- Commission a dependency audit. Map all critical systems using Starlink and assess single points of failure.
- Review service level agreements (SLAs) and demand explicit assurances, including automated failover and limits on unilateral shutdowns.
- Pilot backup connectivity such as terrestrial LTE, one or more alternate LEO providers (for example, OneWeb and Project Kuiper), and test automatic failover.
- Run exercises simulating satellite outages to stress-test decision‑making and communications continuity under pressure.
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