SpaceX has crossed a significant milestone, announcing it now has over 10,000 subscribers to its Starlink internet service.
Starlink is a constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit, designed to provide internet access to remote and underserved communities. Because the satellites are in low-Earth orbit, the service offers relatively high speeds and low latency, unlike traditional satellite internet services.
The service just entered beta in late-October, expanding to the UK in January. Despite its short time on the market, the service has already passed 10,000 users, according to an FCC filing (PDF).
Starlink’s performance is not theoretical or experimental. Over 10,000 users in the United States and abroad are using the service today. While its performance is rapidly accelerating in real time as part of its public beta program, the Starlink network has already successfully demonstrated it can surpass the Commission’s “Above Baseline” and “Low Latency” performance tiers.
Starlink’s speed has been its biggest selling point, with many users seeing speeds in excess of 150 Mbps, combined with latency as low as 39 ms. Because many customers live in remote areas, in some cases, users were only getting single-digit speeds — or less — prior to making the switch to Starlink.