“This week, we will surpass 4 million Starlink users,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told lawmakers on September 24.

On September 26 (local time), the service confirmed the information on X: "Starlink is connecting more than 4 million people to high-speed Internet in more than 100 countries and territories."

spacex starlink
Starlink announced it has reached more than 4 million users globally. Photo: SpaceX

The milestone means SpaceX has added 1 million new customers since the end of May, a pretty impressive growth rate. Starlink began offering a trial service in October 2020, reaching 1 million subscribers in December 2022, 2 million in September 2023 and 3 million in May. Elon Musk's satellite internet service has launched more than 7,000 satellites, serving both individual and business customers.

Starlink is on track to generate $6.6 billion in revenue this year, up from nearly $1.4 billion two years ago, according to consultancy Quilty Space.

Starlink is central to SpaceX’s plans for commercialization and space exploration. While it is still raising money from investors, Musk said revenue from the broadband internet service will help fund the development of the Starship reusable rocket later on.

As a “giant” in the satellite Internet market, Starlink has been constantly stealing market share from traditional companies such as Viasat and SES, which operate large satellites in higher geostationary orbits, since its launch. Some other players are also interested in participating but have not yet commercialized, such as Amazon's Project Kuiper.

(According to TechCrunch)