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SpaceX’s Starlink has officially surpassed 4 million customers across more than 100 countries. This milestone was announced by SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell, who also outlined plans for expanding Starlink’s satellite network and its new Direct-to-Cell service in collaboration with T-Mobile.
SpaceX Celebrates Starlink Surpassing 4 Million Global Customers, Expands Texas Operations for Future Growth
During the Starlink celebration, SpaceX recently commemorated the achievement of eclipsing 4 million customers worldwide in more than 100 countries.
In the past year or two, Starlink has accomplished numerous milestones and during a hearing at the Texas House of Representatives, Gwynn Shotwell, the President and Chief Operations Officer of SpaceX, provided an update on the status of Starlink.
“We also have Starlink[’s] user terminal factory in Bastrop Texas—almost a million square feet and we’re expanding now…This week– by the way–we will pass 4 million customers for Starlink, which is quite exciting,” said Shotwell.
According to Shotwell, SpaceX intends to manufacture printed circuit boards at its Starlink Bastrop facility. It wants to compete with Taiwan and other Southeast Asian nations in the printed circuit board market.
“Bastrop will be the largest printed circuit board manufacturing facility in the entire United States. And I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to beat Southeast Asia in efficiency of producing those printed circuit boards.”
SpaceX Plans 100 Launches for Starlink Direct-to-Cell Service, Partnering with T-Mobile for 2025 Rollout
The SpaceX COO also informed the Texas House of Representatives that the company aspires to launch approximately 100 missions to place additional Starlink satellites in orbit. SpaceX is launching Starlink Direct-to-Cell, also known as Starlink Cellular, in collaboration with T-Mobile.
In a recent interview with Jim Cramer, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert predicted that the Starlink Cellular prototype could be launched between late 2024 and early 2025. At present, Sievert reported that SpaceX has 192 cellular satellites in orbit. According to reports, approximately 300 cellular satellites are required for Starlink Cellular to provide services in the United States. According to Shotwell's comments, the necessary number of cellular satellites to launch Starlink Direct-to-Cell will be achieved through approximately 100 missions.
