- Satellite television signals became a hidden conduit to circumvent the Internet shutdown imposed by Iran’s government.
- Toosheh delivers gigabytes of data without user interaction or trace
- Jamming efforts fail to completely block satellite data delivery
In January 2026, the Iranian government shut down internet services in all provinces for weeks and also limited VPN, messaging, and phone services.
To regain connectivity, a nonprofit called NetFreedom Pioneers turned to an unlikely solution: ordinary satellite television signals.
The technology, called Toosheh, delivers curated data through free-to-air satellite television broadcasts that the government cannot easily block.
Article continues below.
How satellite television signals became a data delivery system
Free satellite broadcasts are unencrypted and can be received by anyone with a satellite dish and receiver, with no subscription required; Technology enthusiasts discovered that they could use a DVB card to transform a personal computer into a satellite receiver.
With this, the device will do more than just watch live TV; It will also capture and store data.
Toosheh works using the MPEG transport stream used by satellite television, but it introduces documents, videos and software in such a way that the receiver treats them as normal audio or video.
Users receive 1 to 5 gigabytes of pre-packaged content in a magazine-like format, without sending requests or revealing their activity, as the system leaves no traceable logs, making it completely private and undetectable.
Why traditional interference is not as effective
Ground interference has been used to jam the network, using antennas installed at higher elevations to transmit loud noise over specific areas.
But this method is short-range and requires considerable power, making it impossible to implement nationwide.
NetFreedom Pioneers added redundancy to their streams, similar to a data storage technique called RAID.
Under normal conditions, it uses approximately 5% of its bandwidth for redundancy. During active interference, it increases up to 30%.
This allows users to rebuild entire files even when some packages are corrupted.
During the internet shutdown, Toosheh distributed official statements from Iranian opposition leaders and the US government.
The system provided first aid tutorials for medics and injured protesters, along with uncensored news reports from BBC Persian, Iran International and VOA Farsi.
It also delivered critical software packages, including anti-censorship tools and guides for securely connecting to Starlink satellite terminals.
However, the system is not without challenges. Operating Toosheh costs tens of thousands of dollars a month in satellite bandwidth.
Since the US State Department will end its funding in August 2025, the burden of costs falls entirely on nonprofit organizations, which can only keep it running temporarily with private donations.
Additionally, unlike two-way systems like Starlink, Toosheh only provides downloads, not uploads, meaning users cannot message or communicate.
Still, Toosheh offers a lifeline, delivering data across the sky in a way that censors can’t easily block.
Through IEEE Spectrum
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds.
