SpaceX’s satellite internet service, Starlink, appears to be well on its way to commercial success despite still being in beta. As revealed by SpaceX operations engineer Siva Bharadvaj during the launch webcast of its 26th Starlink mission, the service has already received more than half a million orders. Starlink began accepting $99 preorders for the service (which includes a $499 upfront cost) in early February.
Only limitation is high density of users in urban areas. Most likely, all of the initial 500k will receive service. More of a challenge when we get into the several million user range.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2021
While SpaceX’s announcement of over half a million orders indicates growing demand for its service, it is unclear how many will become monthly users or are in areas that Starlink will service. Though the service is designed to reach any place on Earth, the ”[o]nly limitation is high density of users in urban areas,” Musk tweeted Tuesday.
Source: CNBC