Starlink: What It Is, How It Works, and What We Should Do About It

Starlink is all over the broadband news lately. The SpaceX-owned broadband provider has come a long way since it first launched 60 satellites in May 2019. Today, SpaceX has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and has received regulatory approval to grow the fleet to 15,000. The company reports over 9 million direct subscribers globally (2.7 million in the U. S. alone), a number experts think is poised to grow exponentially in the coming years. In a recent SEC filing, Starlink claimed it can reach 3.3 billion potential users now. Starlink’s rapid growth has not come without controversy, much of it centered around SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire. Regardless, Starlink also receives high acclaim from many users. The company can connect people in remote and isolated places that have long lacked service. The ability to quickly connect users is a major boon in emergencies. But how does Starlink work? And what are the major advantages, disadvantages, and policy considerations? This piece describes how the service works, the pros and cons of Starlink, where it stands in the US policy ecosystem, and the policy considerations for the broadband world.