Bypassing the Blackout: How Toosheh Uses Satellite TV to Fight Censorship in Iran

On January 8, 2026, the Iranian government implemented a near-total communications shutdown, marking the country’s first full information blackout. For several weeks, internet access was disabled across all provinces, while landlines, mobile calls, text messaging, VPNs and the government-run intranet were severely throttled, cutting off more than 90 million people from global and internal communications.

Connectivity remained unstable throughout the first quarter of the year. Following U.S. And Israeli airstrikes in late February 2026, the Iranian government again imposed near-total restrictions, further stifling the flow of global information.

Thirteen days into the January shutdown, NetFreedom Pioneers (NFP), a California-based nonprofit, deployed a satellite filecasting technology called Toosheh. The system provided a critical lifeline by delivering real-time updates, uncensored news, and essential tools into Iran during the national information vacuum.

The Technical Architecture of Toosheh

Toosheh, which means knapsack in Persian, was launched in 2015 by tech entrepreneur and NFP Executive Director Mehdi Yahyanejad. Unlike traditional internet services, Toosheh does not provide two-way internet access; instead, it delivers curated data packages ranging from 1 to 5 gigabytes in a magazine-like format.

The technology leverages the MPEG transport stream, a file system used by satellite TV that allows multiple layers of audio, video, and data to be packaged into a single stream. NFP developed a transfer protocol that embeds digital content—such as documents and videos—as .ts files within these standard TV video streams.

Because the signals are transmitted via free-to-air satellite TV channels, they are unencrypted and can be received by anyone with a standard satellite dish and receiver. Users record the video stream to a USB drive, transfer the file to a computer or smartphone, and use Toosheh software to decode the stream back into usable files.

This method provides a significant security advantage: the process is entirely private and untraceable. Because the system is receive-only, there are no traceable logs of user activity, preventing the government from identifying individuals who access the content.

Bypassing Centralized Censorship

The necessity for Toosheh stems from the highly centralized nature of Iran’s internet infrastructure. Unlike the distributed networks found in Europe or the United States, most of Iran’s international traffic passes through a small number of state-controlled gateways, allowing authorities to easily throttle or sever connections.

The government further maintains control through the National Information Network, a domestic system designed to keep data within the country. To identify and block specific traffic, such as messaging apps and VPNs, the Telecommunication Company of Iran employs deep packet inspection to analyze data packets in real time.

Toosheh evades these tactics by operating outside the internet infrastructure entirely. During the 2026 blackout, NFP used the system to distribute first-aid tutorials for medics, official statements from the U.S. Government and opposition leader Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, and uncensored reports from outlets including VOA Farsi, BBC Persian, Iran International, and IranWire.

Combating Signal Jamming

While Toosheh avoids internet-based blocks, it remains susceptible to satellite signal jamming. The Iranian government utilizes terrestrial jamming, where antennas at high elevations beam noise over specific areas to disrupt household receivers.

To counter this, NFP implemented a redundancy system similar to RAID (redundant array of independent disks). By sending extra information that allows for the reconstruction of missing or corrupted packets, NFP can ensure file recovery. Under normal conditions, this redundancy uses 5 percent of the bandwidth, but it is increased to 25 to 30 percent during periods of active jamming.

Comparing Toosheh and Starlink

NFP also supports the deployment of Starlink terminals in Iran, though the two technologies serve different purposes. Starlink provides full two-way internet access, allowing users to upload videos and send encrypted messages. However, Starlink terminals transmit signals back to orbit, creating a radio footprint that can be detected by authorities.

View this post on Instagram about Toosheh, Iran

Because Starlink is banned, its use carries higher risks, and users and sellers have been arrested. In contrast, Toosheh is a downlink-only broadcast, making it inherently more stealthy for the end user.

Funding and Future Applications

The operational costs of Toosheh are high, with satellite bandwidth costing tens of thousands of dollars per month. While the service previously received funding from the U.S. State Department, that support ended in August 2025, leading to a temporary suspension of services in Iran.

Following protests in December 2025, the service was revived through private donors who provided approximately $50,000 per month to sustain operations.

NFP is currently exploring new features to expand the technology’s utility, including:

• Intelligent content curation that prioritizes data based on situational or geographic needs.
• Local sharing tools that allow users to redistribute Toosheh files via offline networks or Wi-Fi hotspots.
• A satellite-based educational system for girls banned from schools in Afghanistan.

Access to information is not only about news or politics, but about exposure to possibilities.

NetFreedom Pioneers