Customer deliveries for SpaceX’s satellite internet system, Starlink, seem to have significantly slowed down over the past two months.
During a Thursday rocket launch, SpaceX reported that Starlink is now serving over 145,000 users across the globe in 25 countries and regions. The number may sound like a lot. But as CNBC notes, this means the company only added around 5,000 new subscribers since early November, when the user count for Starlink reached 140,000.
For perspective, Starlink’s subscriber count jumped from 10,000+ last February to almost 70,000 in late June. The service then reached 100,000 in August before scaling up to 140,000. The numbers suggest SpaceX was adding about 10,000 subscribers each month prior to November.
The delivery slowdown is likely due to ongoing supply chain issues. In late October, SpaceX began warning that the global chip shortage was preventing it from fulfilling customer orders.
The official Starlink website has also been updated to note: “Extreme winter weather and COVID staffing issues are impacting FedEx and may result in delivery delays.”
The delayed deliveries have already disappointed many US consumers who placed pre-orders for a Starlink dish months ago. According to SpaceX’s own numbers, over 750,000 consumers across the globe are still waiting to try out the satellite internet system.
The good news is that on Thursday SpaceX launched a new batch of 49 Starlink satellites into orbit, which should help the company serve more potential customers. The company is aiming to soon operate thousands of Starlink satellites in Earth’s orbit for improved global coverage and faster broadband speeds.
