The Polish government has publicly criticized Elon Musk's Starlink service for excluding Poland from its new European roaming internet rules set to take effect on August 17.
Under the updated policy, Polish users must submit passports each time they access Starlink outside Poland and are forced to subscribe to costlier premium plans. Starlink's official list of European countries covered by the roaming plan notably omits Poland, treating accounts registered there as "Poland-only" for home use.
Polish Digital Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski expressed strong disapproval on X, Musk's social media platform, emphasizing that Polish customers should not face inferior treatment compared to other Europeans. He has demanded SpaceX urgently reinstate equal terms and rejected any justification that the exclusion "simply has to be this way." Gawkowski also warned against viewing this as retaliation, stating Poland would not back down.
Relations between Poland and Starlink have been strained amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where Poland has been a staunch ally and has provided millions in Starlink terminals and subscriptions to Ukrainian forces. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also called out Musk on X, urging him to stop discriminating against Polish users or risk reconsideration of Poland's $50 million annual payments for the service.
It remains unclear whether this change will affect Starlink subscriptions in Ukraine, a critical concern given the geopolitical context and previous tensions between Musk and Ukrainian officials.
