Musk Sees Starlink Having 500,000 Users in 12 Months

Elon Musk talked about the status of Starlink, along with his expectations for the future, including his belief the service will have 500,000 users in 12 months....
Musk Sees Starlink Having 500,000 Users in 12 Months
Written by Matt Milano
  • Elon Musk talked about the status of Starlink, along with his expectations for the future, including his belief the service will have 500,000 users in 12 months.

    Starlink is the satellite constellation being deployed by Musk’s second company, SpaceX. The satellites are being deployed in low-Earth orbit and provide internet access to underserved communities. Because of their relatively low orbit, the service offers speeds and latency far in excess of traditional satellite internet, and more directly competes with traditional broadband.

    Musk made a remote appearance at the Mobile World Congress event, where he discussed the progress Starlink has made. The constellation now includes 1,500 satellites, with global internet coverage expected by next month, minus the poles.

    Musk also said he believes the service will grow rapidly over the next year.

    “We recently passed the strategically notable number of 69,420 active users,” Musk said, according to Mashable. ”We’re, I think, on our way to have a few hundred thousand users, possibly over 500,000 users within 12 months.”

    Individuals hoping to ditch their cable or fiber internet in the cities may be disappointed, however. Musk reiterated the service is primarily for underserved communities that don’t have access to traditional alternatives, and the company may limit users in more densely populated regions.

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit