Starlink hits 4 million subscribers

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network is expected to hit a new customer milestone this week, company President Gwynne Shotwell told Texas legislators on Tuesday. 

“This week, by the way, we will pass 4 million customers for Starlink, which is quite exciting,” she said while testifying before a state House Appropriations Committee meeting. (The milestone was confirmed by SpaceX on Thursday.)

The milestone would mean that SpaceX has gained a million new customers since the end of May alone. This outpaces the company’s already impressive rate of growth: Starlink started providing beta service of its product in October 2020; it hit 1 million subscribers in December 2022, 2 million subscribers in September 2023, and 3 million in May. The constellation now comprises nearly 6,000 satellites, with service available in nearly 100 countries to individual users as well as large enterprise customers like major airlines and cruise lines.  

The service is on track to generate $6.6 billion in revenue this year — an increase from roughly $1.4 billion just two years prior, according to industry research and consulting firm Quilty Space. 

Starlink is central to SpaceX’s overall plan to commercialize and eventually explore space. While the company has continued to raise money from investors, CEO Elon Musk has said for years that revenue from the broadband internet service would help fund further development of the massive reusable rocket, Starship. In turn, bringing Starship online will help the company launch even more Starlink satellites at a greater cadence. 

Starlink has become the undisputed giant of satellite internet. Since starting service, it has taken increased market share from legacy incumbents like Viasat and SES, which operate large satellites in a higher geostationary orbit. There are a handful of other constellations currently in the works, notably Amazon’s Project Kuiper, but they have yet to commence commercial service.