By Michael Elkins
According to an FCC filing on Monday, SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink is now serving over 400,000 subscribers around the world. The filing shows how the service is growing rapidly. Just two months ago the company reported service for 250,000 subscribers.
SpaceX has been steadily rolling out access to their Starlink service in 32 countries, including sending thousands of Starlink dishes to Ukraine in an effort to keep the country online during its war with Russia.
An availability map on SpaceX’s Starlink website now shows only a handful of countries where the service is not listed as “coming soon:” Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba. China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela.
The FCC filing goes on to note that SpaceX "will connect even more people and places with its next-generation user terminals." This may mean SpaceX is already working on a third-generation Starlink dish for residential consumers.
“SpaceX is poised to drive even greater value to American consumers and businesses through its earth stations in motion, which require 12GHz capacity to connect aircraft, ships, and vehicles to high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity in the United States and abroad,” SpaceX Satellite Policy Director Brett Tarnutzer wrote in the filing.
Along with the FCC filing, SpaceX launched its new Starlink RV service on Monday. The new service is designed for consumers who would like access during road trips or while camping. The company is also expanding to inflight Wi-Fi, and expects to begin service to commercial aircraft in about a year (pending regulatory approval).