Starlink is helping close the U.S. digital divide

Players in the broadband industry are increasingly concerned about the impact that SpaceX’s Starlink could have on their businesses. Recently, New Street Research (NSR), working with Recon Analytics’ data, found that SpaceX’s Starlink continues to get close to half of its gross adds from small rural broadband providers and customers that are new to broadband. “New customers” refers to subscribers who say they have not had broadband in the past. NSR Analyst David Barden said, “So far, we haven’t seen any major impact on the wired broadband operators in the U.S. mostly because Starlink has been focused on rural markets where customers have few alternatives. As Starlink increases its total capacity with V3 satellite launches, its ability to lower prices and target more incumbent broadband operator customers will grow.”