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Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, has officially surpassed 6 million subscribers worldwide, solidifying its position as a leading player in the global broadband industry. As of May 22, 2025, the company reported an estimated 6,004,144 users across 130 countries.
Since its beta launch in late 2020, Starlink has experienced rapid adoption, providing high-speed internet to underserved and remote areas. Initially targeting rural communities in North America, the service has expanded aggressively, now covering every other continents. Notably, Starlink gained 1 million new customers between late 2022 and early 2023, and another 3 million subscribers in the following year.
By Gamuchirai Mapako
With over 5,000 active satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), Starlink has significantly reduced lagging and increased bandwidth availability. This improvement in satellite coverage has enabled the service to deliver faster speeds, with users in Botswana, for example, experiencing speeds of up to 106.4 Mbps, Eswatini (86.2 Mbps), Sierra Leone, (77.8 Mbps) and Rwanda (85.5 Mbps).
Starlink’s subscriber base is spread across the globe, with significant growth in Africa. As of the end of Q1 2025, Starlink had 336,000 subscribers in those countries. Starlink had about 237,000 at the end of Q4 2024, and therefore gained around 100,000 subscribers in those countries in just three months. This means that 6.2% of Starlink subscriptions at the moment are in Africa.
According to the latest quarterly update from Zimbabwe’s Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ), VSAT subscriptions including subscriptions to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services jumped 513.79% in Q4 of 2024. In POTRAZ’s report, Starlink subscriptions have been grouped with traditional VSAT providers. The POTRAZ report says that this record jump from 3,814 subscriptions in Q3 2024 to 23,410 in Q4 2024 is attributed to the entry of Starlink in Zimbabwe. Starlink got almost 20,000 signups in just 3 months at the end of Q4 2024.
Starlink’s rapid growth is expected to translate to significant revenue. With its expanding customer base and increasing demand for reliable satellite internet, particularly in regions where traditional ISPs have failed to deliver adequate connectivity, Starlink is poised for continued growth.
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