SpaceX has been operating Starlink since late in 2020 when it launched its beta testing program in the US in November and a few months later in January 2021 in Canada. Since then the service has expanded to over 40 countries around the world as SpaceX built out its Starlink constellation to more than 3,000 satellites in orbit.
As the service expanded so did the number of subscribers. A little over seven months after launching the beta testing program CEO Elon Musk revealed SpaceX had accumulated the meme-worthy figure of 69,420 subscribers.
Since then the number of subscribers has grown exponentially. One month later and that number was sitting at 90,000, then by May 2022 it topped 400,000.
According to the latest update from SpaceX, there are now over 1 million active subscribers around the world. The company announced the milestone figure on Twitter, sharing a video showing just how easy Starlink is to setup and get connected to the internet, while thanking all of the customers that helped them reach the milestone.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1604872936976154624
Those 1 million customers are spread across the number of different service that Starlink now offers, like Starlink Business, Starlink for RV, Starlink Maritime, and Starlink Aviation, to name a few.
While the number of subscribers have grown, there have been reports from internet speed testing companies that download and upload speeds have suffered as a result of the congestion that is created from over 1 million active users.
That should be changing soon as SpaceX is not only adding more satellites, but it is also preparing to launch its second generation satellites very soon. According to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week, SpaceX said it plans to launch its Gen 2 satellites before the end of the year. The company only has one scheduled launch remaining for this year, and that is scheduled to take place on December 28.
SpaceX plans to launch second-gen Starlink satellites this month
