(Credit: Brian Westover/PCMag)
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SpaceX's Starlink rollout is continuing at a rapid pace, with the satellite broadband service topping 8 million customers worldwide, a little over two months after it hit 7 million subscribers.
That's bolstered not only by end users but also by commercial partnerships. Earlier this week, International Airline Group (IAG)—which owns British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus—said it will offer Starlink Wi-Fi on 500 planes, starting in early 2026.
Although direct fiber connections to homes are still the fastest and most reliable way to get online, Starlink is a godsend for those of us in rural locations. While SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's politics might stick in my craw, my own Mbps would be in the single digits without Starlink. With satellite access, I can enjoy high-speed gaming out in the sticks. It's imperfect, but ideal.
Clearly, I'm not the only one. A year ago, Starlink had 4 million global customers, so it's doubled that number as it continues to send up more satellites and try various promotions to secure new sign-ups, from free satellite dishes to a free month of service. SpaceX also says download and upload rates for its satellite internet service have significantly improved since January.
The nearest real rival is China's Guowang network, although it has only about 100 satellites in orbit, compared with SpaceX's 8,000+. Amazon's Project Kuiper is expanding, but it isn't ready for primetime yet, and Eutelsat in Europe is currently focused more on enterprise customers.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is striking deals for new spectrum and expanding to smartphones (and smartwatches) via its cellular Starlink service.
The IAG deal is just one of several in-flight Wi-Fi deals behind United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Qatar Airways, and more. IAG will offer Wi-Fi on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL, and Vueling aircraft for short-haul journeys in Europe, as well as all long-haul transatlantic and global routes.