Planet Labs curbs on Iran imagery still running, Gulf buyers ask who decides
Planet Labs' retroactive hold on Iran imagery continues, and Gulf government buyers are questioning who can suspend services.
On 4 April, Planet Labs told customers it would withhold imagery of Iran and the surrounding conflict zone indefinitely, retroactive to 9 March. The company said the U.S. government had asked all commercial imagery providers to do the same. Vantor said it had not been contacted but was applying its own enhanced access controls across parts of the region.
A column by K Kelevitch in Via Satellite, dated 22 October, says the policy is still running. It says Gulf procurement offices read the move as a sign that a party outside the contract can suspend a commercial service agreement without notice, with retroactive effect on data already paid for.
The column says Gulf government buyers now ask operators early under what circumstances a service stops, who decides, and what they receive if it does. It adds that a seller without a good answer is competing on price alone.
It also cites a case from the night of 13 October, when Starshield terminals in Ukraine stopped working above roughly 160 kilometres per hour. Ukrainian units learned of it from customer support after filing a fault report, and the 7th Corps cancelled missions.
Sourcesatellitetoday.com