Home / Technology / FCC Errs on Starlink Subscriber Count
FCC Errs on Starlink Subscriber Count
19 Aug
Summary
- FCC mistakenly claimed over 7 million Starlink US subscribers.
- The report was corrected using SpaceX's recent Q2 earnings.
- Expert estimates suggest 4.7 million US users based on IPv6.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has admitted to an error in its Section 706 report concerning broadband access in the United States. The report originally stated that SpaceX's Starlink service had surpassed 7 million subscribers in the US, a figure that seemed unusually high given previous reports. This number has now been officially corrected through an 'erratum' issued by the FCC.
The corrected report now cites figures from SpaceX's recent Q2 earnings, indicating a global subscriber base that grew from 6 million to 12 million between June 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026. This adjustment provides a more accurate representation of Starlink's reach.
Jianping Pan, a professor specializing in satellite internet systems, expressed skepticism about the initial 7 million figure. His own research, which tracks Starlink usage via public IPv6 addresses, estimates the number of US users to be around 4.7 million. Pan suggested the FCC likely confused the global subscriber count with the American user base, noting that 7 million was closer to the worldwide total around mid-2025.
