Introduction
Space is no longer a distant project belonging to agencies and laboratories, but has become an everyday infrastructure layer similar to electricity: we don't see it, but its absence disrupts work, education, finance and services. The critical shift here is not just that the Internet arrives via satellite, but that the abundance of capacity resulting from huge constellations and accelerated launches moves the Internet from being a terrestrial service linked to towers and cables to a service that covers the margin where terrestrial investment does not work quickly or efficiently enough, such as deserts, long roads, the sea and scattered villages, then gradually starts moving to the heart of the economy.In this context, Starlink's milestone of more than 10,000 satellites launched in 2025 is a sign that the market is no longer dealing with an experimental service, but with a network that is expanding to become part of the equations of competition, regulation, and digital sovereignty (Space.com, 2025).
Does this expansion contribute to reducing the digital divide and redistributing opportunities in the Middle East by connecting the periphery and enabling education, labor, health and logistics, or does it create a new dependency on infrastructure outside traditional sovereignty, so that the right to connectivity becomes tied to the decisions of a single global operator and a local regulation pattern formed under the pressure of technology, security and prices? We will deconstruct this through three axes: the impact of capacity abundance on the peripheral economy, then its role in emergency and flexibility, and finally its implications for the telecom market and digital sovereignty.
First: Space capacity as an economic lever for peripheral regions
The number 10,000 may seem symbolic, but economically it means something simpler: more available paths, more overlapping coverage, and better network load distribution. When specialized reports talked about the launch of the 10,000th satellite in October 2025, they were not referring to a single satellite, but to the system entering a dense phase that makes the service less sensitive to geographical gaps and demand variations over time (Space.com, 2025).Importantly, launch does not equal operation: according to an updated summary of the Starlink program, 9,357 satellites were in orbit as of December 19, 2025, of which 9,347 were operational, reflecting an actual expansion of operational capacity, not just marketing (Space.com, 2025).In terms of performance, the same sources indicate common user speeds in the 100-200 Mbps range, with relatively low latency compared to HEO systems, because the satellites are in low-Earth orbit (Space.com, 2025).
These characteristics take on immediate meaning in the Middle East, where the region is experiencing a digital paradox: cities with advanced telecommunications infrastructures, versus large peripheries with few broadband options, or a usage gap even when coverage is available. The GSMA report on the Middle East and North Africa states that by 2023, 49% of the region's population will have used mobile internet (about 327 million users), with large segments remaining unconnected in the usage gap, meaning that the service technically exists but barriers relate to cost, skills, and perceived value (GSMA, 2024).At a broader level, World Bank data for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP) region shows that in 2024, the percentage of internet users will be around 61%, meaning that roughly one-third are online and two-thirds offline, with the gap typically concentrated outside of cities (World Bank, 2025). It is here that satellite capacity presents itself as a solution that works on the geography of the gap: not only expanding coverage, but reducing the cost of reaching the last mile in places where the last mile is the biggest issue (GSMA, 2025).
First, distance education is no longer an emergency solution, but a service industry: curriculum-oriented learning platforms, short vocational training, proctored digital exams, and community learning centers in villages with stable connectivity. The difference between intermittent and stable connectivity is the difference between a recorded lesson consumed by a student alone and an interactive class that connects a teacher to five villages simultaneously. When connectivity becomes possible at the margins, the equation of migration for education changes: it does not disappear, but becomes a choice rather than a fate.Second, telecommuting and the gig economy become a realistic possibility: a designer in a village, a programmer in a mountainous region, or technical support from a distant town can sell their skills to clients outside the country, provided a stable and relatively low-latency connection. In the background, policy literature suggests that expanding broadband access is associated with macroeconomic gains, such as estimates linking increased broadband penetration to growth in output per capita, making connectivity not just a communications luxury but a productivity lever when properly employed (Brookings Institution, 2023).
Third, telehealth becomes more viable: peripheral clinics linked by video consultations, telemetry readings, faster case referral, and reduced travel costs for families. ITU reports on innovation trends in satellite communications highlight the role of satellite connectivity in supporting health, education and inclusion in rural areas where terrestrial alternatives are economically unfeasible or slow to implement (ITU, 2024).Fourth, supply chains, agriculture and energy benefit from stable connectivity to manage smart farms, monitor remote facilities, track shipments, and support logistics companies on long routes and at sea, a critical area in a region dependent on long corridors and remote production sites. Fifth, the small service economy in the periphery thrives when payment gateways, digital stores, and e-government services are available, because connectivity here turns time lost in travel into productive time, education, or care.
The World Bank reports on fiber deployment models state that rural areas suffer from dispersed housing, which raises the cost per household served, and that the feasibility of investment is affected by distances and expected subscription rates, making land expansion in the periphery slow or in need of public subsidies (World Bank, 2024).In a consistent trend, the ITU's Human Connectivity Report estimates that coverage scenarios tend to favor fiber in cities, 4G as a broadband solution for rural areas, and satellite for more remote areas, implicitly recognizing that each technology wins in different geographies (ITU, 2024).Hence, abundant capacity should not be presented as a blanket replacement for fiber, but rather as a lever to accelerate economic integration at specific points: dispersed villages, energy projects, roads, agricultural areas, and logistics sites, with fiber remaining the higher standard where feasible and feasible in the long term.
A concluding question for the axis: Will the periphery turn from a service burden into a source of growth when it becomes as connected as cities, or will the abundance of capacity create periphery that is nominally connected but at a cost or quality that limits economic integration?
II: Emergency, resilience and redefining continuity in disasters, sea and borders
The abundance of large satellites makes connectivity a back-up layer when terrestrial networks collapse or are damaged: fires, floods, earthquakes, extended power outages, or security disruptions. In the logic of risk management, having an alternative communication layer is like a digital insurance policy: it does not prevent the event, but minimizes its losses by preserving communication, coordination, and services. This does not mean that satellite communication is immune, but it means that the failure of one layer should not equal the failure of the entire society, especially in a region where difficult geography and critical infrastructure sensitivity intersect.
In practice, value is manifested in three dense theaters in the Middle East: roads, deserts, sea and borders. On long roads and in the desert, connectivity goes from a luxury to a safety factor: emergency notifications, truck tracking, rescue coordination, and desert tourism where connectivity becomes part of the value proposition. At sea, a stable connection can support safety, navigation and logistics operation, and reduce the cost of uncertainty in supply chains.In border and peripheral areas, connectivity becomes a tool for the continuity of government, health and education services when terrestrial networks are limited or prone to disruption. This is precisely why some countries are turning to partial forms of licensing (e.g. maritime or aviation services) before allowing full consumer expansion, to test the impact in critical sectors without opening up the whole market at once (The National News, 2024).
The most obvious example in 2025 was a global outage of Starlink that lasted about 2.5 hours, attributed to a credible report of an internal software failure, with tens of thousands of users affected (Reuters, 2025). This event is a reminder that scale does not eliminate the potential for failure, but rather changes its shape: instead of a local tower falling, we have a logical point of failure at the level of software and centralized management.In addition to technical failures, there is a critical governance dimension that recurs in international debates: when a private service becomes a communications backbone in a crisis, operational and coverage decisions become politically and security-sensitive, as highlighted in investigative reports on the sensitivity of controlling coverage areas in conflict contexts as a de facto force of influence rather than a mere communications service (Reuters, 2025).
What does this mean for countries and companies in the Middle East? First, the inclusion of satellite connectivity in emergency plans should be institutionalized rather than improvised: operational protocols, team training, equipment inventory, and periodic testing. Second, multi-vendor or space/ground blending becomes a rational option: not to do away with Starlink, but to avoid mono-dependency.Third, resilience is not just about disaster, but about daily business continuity: fewer interruptions mean fewer losses for businesses and more confidence for investors in projects located outside cities. This is precisely why peripheral connectivity is part of a country's economic readiness rating, like roads, airports and ports: not just measured by the number of users, but by the ability of the economy to continue when part of its networks are disrupted.
Then there is an invisible dimension related to space itself: as the number of satellites swells, the issues of orbital congestion, space debris, and the effects on astronomy and communications are increasing. Specialized reports have addressed astronomers' concerns about light pollution and radio interference, the dangers of orbital tugs, and the issue of re-entry of satellites into the atmosphere and the accompanying environmental and regulatory questions (Space.com, 2025).These details are not far from the region's economy, because any global regulatory tightening in orbital safety or satellite disposal procedures could change the cost or terms of service, and reshape the cheap and fast equation that makes space communication attractive to parties.
A concluding question for the axis: Will crisis connectivity become a competitive criterion for countries like the readiness of roads and airports, or will reliance on a single constellation make resilience itself hostage to factors beyond the local decision?
Third: The telecommunications market and digital sovereignty in the era of excess space capacity
In the partnership scenario, local companies can integrate a satellite service into their packages, benefiting from the coverage of the periphery without completely losing their relationship with the customer, and the state remains able to impose license conditions, gateways, and cybersecurity standards. In the open competition scenario, prices may decrease and options increase, but the sensitivity of digital sovereignty increases: data traffic, service conditions, and the ability to intervene in case of emergencies.In a restrictive licensing scenario, the state authorizes specific services (maritime/aviation/enterprise) while postponing the opening of the consumer market until a clear regulatory and financial framework is built. 2025 examples in the region reflect this progression: Jordan has declared service availability, while reports indicate that approvals in some Gulf countries were partial or in process, including a maritime license in the UAE with regulatory documents and the beginnings of service adoption in Oman and Bahrain, with ongoing debates about the extent and conditions of availability (The National News, 2025; Stimson Center, 2025).
Sovereignty appears here not as a rejection of technology, but as a search for a balance between three goals: connecting parties quickly, protecting local competition, and ensuring security and privacy requirements. When a communication layer passes through a global provider, part of the communication policy may become tied to an external structure.This does not mean dependency is inevitable, but it does mean that dependency should be managed through clear rules: localization requirements for gateways, data retention requirements where necessary, adherence to security standards, and transparency in pricing and cancellation, because abundant capacity may lower the cost of entry but does not prevent monopolization of the same layer if one provider controls the largest share of the market.
A final question for the axis: Will satellite capacity lead to competition that serves the consumer and connects the parties, or to a regulatory battle over who owns the new communication layer and who determines its rules?
Conclusion
Starlink's reaching the threshold of more than 10,000 launched satellites is not just a hype figure, but a sign of an abundance of capacity capable of redistributing education, employment, services and logistics opportunities in the Middle East, especially outside cities (Space.com, 2025). But the developmental impact is not automatic: it goes through policies that make connectivity a production tool rather than a consumption tool, and regulation that reduces the risk of dependence on a single provider, learning from outage incidents and the sensitivity of controlling connectivity layers (Reuters, 2025).To the extent that satellites provide rapid deployment in the periphery, fiber remains a long-term standard where geography and feasibility allow, with a complementary role for satellite in more remote areas (World Bank, 2025). The open question that continues to draw the reader: will ubiquitous connectivity become a public development right, or a paid feature that redefines the digital divide?
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