Starlink Signs Up 18,700 Subscribers a Day as Rivals Circle

SpaceX is adding around 18,700 Starlink subscribers every day, and analysts expect the company to report roughly 1.7 million net new customers for the third quarter when it publishes results on October 20. That would take the satellite broadband service past the 12 million subscribers it announced at the end of Q2.

The trajectory has been steep and remarkably consistent. Starlink closed 2023 with 2.3 million subscribers, ended 2024 at 4.4 million, and finished 2025 at 8.9 million. The count reached 10.3 million in Q1 2026 and 12 million in Q2. To put the scale in perspective: the service has added more customers in the past twelve months than in its first three years combined.

Two forces are driving the growth. Distribution has widened across more markets, and pricing has come down sharply. In the US, the monthly fee has fallen from $99 to $66. Consumer revenue reflects the momentum: it grew 44 per cent year-on-year in Q2 to $2.4 billion.

What do analysts expect from Q3?

Bank consensus puts overall SpaceX revenue for the third quarter between $12.6 billion and $13.4 billion. The breakdown anticipated by analysts:

• AI-related business: about $7.6 billion
• Connectivity: $4.9 billion
• Space-related activity: $1.3 billion

Elon Musk has set a far more ambitious marker. He has said SpaceX could make $1 trillion in revenue in 2030 — a claim that rests heavily on the AI business continuing its current expansion rate, and one that sits firmly in the category of founder aspiration rather than guidance.

Where is the resistance coming from?

Not every market is welcoming Starlink with open arms, and much of the friction is political rather than commercial. In Europe, several governments are moving to build or buy alternatives.

Eutelsat's share price rose by some 28 per cent over the past few days, helped by unconfirmed reports that its OneWeb constellation could serve as an alternative for Ukraine. Eutelsat reports quarterly results on October 29, and investors will be watching for any update on OneWeb's progress.

Poland, which already finances Starlink usage and equipment for Ukraine, wants its own alternative. Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said initial discussions have already taken place and offers have been received. "Funding is in place," he said, and the technical architecture is planned.

Germany's army is pursuing a similar path, and the EU as a whole is building IRIS², a constellation of secure low Earth orbit satellites intended to give Europe an independent satellite system before the end of this decade.

Canada adds a different flavour of resistance. Anger at US President Donald Trump's treatment of the country has amplified voices calling for Telesat's Lightspeed broadband service to arrive as quickly as possible, so that Starlink can be banned outright. Lightspeed is likely to offer a full global service in early 2028.

Can Europe build its own SpaceX?

The most ambitious response is still on the drawing board. Europe is backing a fast-track merger of three space businesses — Airbus and Thales of France, plus Italy's Leonardo — into a single rocket-to-satellite company, under the working name Project Bromo. The combined entity would be absolved of anti-trust obligations and is pitched as Europe's answer to SpaceX.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed the project publicly. "These are the types of industrial champions we need if Europe is to lead in the space economy of tomorrow," she said at an international space summit in Paris last month, citing Bromo by name.

Few observers doubt the intent behind these plans. The challenge is time: building a constellation takes years, and Europe still needs an independent rocket launcher to put a rival fleet into orbit. Until IRIS², Lightspeed or a Bromo-era champion delivers, Starlink's daily intake of nearly 19,000 subscribers looks set to continue unchecked.