(Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Image)
User growth for SpaceX's satellite internet system, Starlink, is climbing quickly, with the service attracting 500,000 new users over the past four months.
In a new video posted on Saturday, Elon Musk reported that Starlink's global user base has reached 2.7 million users—up from 2.2 million in December.
Musk made the announcement in a speech dedicated to talking about SpaceX's ongoing effort to send humans to Mars and colonize the Red Planet. "Starlink will also be very important for high bandwidth communication to and on Mars," he said.
(Credit: SpaceX)Musk didn't say where the growth is coming from, but increasing subscriber count is crucial since he plans on using Starlink profits to fund SpaceX's other projects, including those focused on Mars. "Starlink is incredible for providing connectivity throughout the world, and also paying for a lot of what we’re doing here,” he said during his speech.
In the same presentation, Musk said the Starlink satellite constellation around Earth now features over 10,000 lasers, enabling the outfitted satellites to beam data to each other in space. In January, a SpaceX engineer said these lasers were already transmitting 42 petabytes of data for customers per day, and helping to drive down latency while expanding Starlink's coverage across the globe.
In addition to serving home internet users, SpaceX is also building a cellular Starlink system to beam broadband to unmodified smartphones. On Saturday, the company successfully launched a second batch of six “direct to cell” satellites.
SpaceX VP Michael Nicolls added that the company plans on sending 13 “direct to cell” Starlink satellites in future launches, rather than just six. The company is in the midst of testing the cellular Starlink technology in the US, with the goal of launching the service with T-Mobile later this year, pending FCC approval.