Starlink speeds drop as customer base for Elon Musk’s satellite internet grows

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service hit a roadblock after gaining momentum in the first half of the year.

SpaceX’s ISP unit, Starlink, slows globally as service grows in popularity, according to internet speed measurement firm Ookla latest quarterly report. (Note: Both Ookla and Mashable are owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.) From the second quarter of 2021 to the present, median Starlink download speeds have declined year over year in every country tracked by Ookla (e.g. Canada, UK, US, and New Zealand).

You don’t want to see the line drop like that.
Credit: Okla

Declines ranged from 9% to 54% depending on the country, but the news is not so completely Bad for Musk and his satellite internet project. For example, the median download speed of Starlink users in the United States last year was around 60Mbps, which is more than enough for the average person’s daily Internet diet.That is, it is still 90Mbps digital This was recorded in June. The U.S. had the lowest speeds of these latest measurements, as other countries like New Zealand and France averaged around 100Mbps, which is a good number by satellite internet standards.

The simplest explanation is that, as Ookla’s report points out, the service may break down a bit over time as the user base becomes more stressed.Starlink More than 400,000 users worldwide May, recently started in Royal Caribbean cruise ship.A group of users reported unexpected price cut Back in August, that may have partly contributed to the increase in subscribers.By the end of 2023, when some T-Mobile customers can Satellites connected to Starlink through their mobile devices.

If Starlink can maintain a decent speed under such pressure, it will be one of Musk’s most successful ventures in years.