On Saturday, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet provider said it now has over 2 million active customers. This milestone means that Starlink gained about a million customers in the last nine months.
“Starlink is available on all 7 continents, in over 60 countries and many more markets, connecting 2M+ active customers and counting with high-speed internet,” Starlink posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
The competition between companies to provide the fastest, most reliable internet service to consumers is fierce, and Starlink hasn’t had the success it planned for. The company fell far short of its goal to reach 20 million customers by the end of 2022. Instead, Starlink only had one million. Finance reports were also bleak. At the end of 2022, Starlink’s revenue totaled $1.4 billion — a stark contrast to its 2015 prediction of reaching $12 billion in revenue and $7 billion in operating profit.
While it’s still far behind legacy providers like Charter and Verizon, the recent growth shows people are still interested in Starlink’s ability to provide high-speed, low-latency internet service in places where normal service isn’t possible. At the end of August, Starlink had over 5,000 satellites in space. This morning, the Falcon 9 launched an additional 22 Starlink satellites. Starlink satellites orbit about 35,000 km closer to the earth than other satellites which shortens round-trip data times for improved speed. The vast number of satellites helps provide high-speed home internet service to households that might’ve otherwise had no other options.
Low subscriber numbers could be attributed to the fact that Starlink still isn’t as widely available currently. It’s also not cheap. In May, Starlink released a new group of plans with sky-high internet speeds for an equally steep price. Plans range from $250 to $5,000 a month in addition to a one-time equipment fee of $2,500. The kit includes a Starlink dish, power supply, wall mount, Wi-Fi router, required cables and a base.
To find out if Starlink internet is available in your area, you can use the Starlink app or visit the company’s website.