(Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SpaceX appears to be ramping up its efforts in at least 10 US states to try and attract consumers to Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service.
The company’s careers page is recruiting "growth leads" in states including Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon with the goal of driving consumer subscriber growth.
"This role will be responsible for building and executing local growth strategies through local partnerships, sales, affiliates, field marketing, events, and other awareness/growth initiatives," one of the postings says. "This person will serve as Starlink’s on-the-ground growth owner for the state, accountable for scaling adoption and expanding broadband access to households and communities.”
(Credit: SpaceX)The job postings signal that SpaceX is considering new discounts and retail partnerships to further promote Starlink. Months ago, SpaceX was also looking to hire a “Starlink Store Manager,” in Bakersfield, California.
In July, SpaceX revealed it had over 2 million active customers for Starlink in the US. The satellite internet system has been particularly popular in rural and remote areas, where high-speed internet can be scarce. But there are signs that the company might be ready to take on traditional internet service providers.
“Satellite will likely continue to encroach on cable homes. Starlink now moves the needle through price-led market share gains,” Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino said in a memo last month.
Last year, Starlink became even more aggressive in attracting new subscribers in the US by reducing the up-front price to $0 through a new rental program for the dish hardware, and offering two cheaper plans for home internet access. The company has since reorganized the Residential Starlink service into three plans at $120, $80, and $50 per month while offering new perks for the top-tier Residential Max offering.
The job postings also arrive when SpaceX is poised to receive an estimated $661 million from the federal BEAD program to bring high-speed internet to underserved areas across the US. States including Colorado, Montana, and Oregon—where SpaceX is looking to hire growth leads—have picked Starlink and/or rival Amazon Leo to serve multiple locations through the BEAD program.
On the downside, Starlink can face congestion issues in areas that are already full of subscribers. To add more capacity and even take on gigabit-fiber providers, SpaceX plans to offer its own satellite-powered gigabit internet later this year once it deploy its next-generation V3 satellites. However, the higher speeds might be reserved for enterprise customers first, rather than consumers.