Home / Technology / SpaceX Acquires Hughesnet Users for Two Months' Pay
SpaceX Acquires Hughesnet Users for Two Months' Pay
3 Mar
Summary
- SpaceX will pay Hughesnet a commission for customer conversions.
- The deal involves two months of Starlink service revenue as payment.
- Hughesnet faces financial struggles and customer attrition.
SpaceX is implementing a fee-based referral program to acquire customers from its competitor, Hughesnet. Under this initiative, SpaceX will compensate Hughesnet with payments equivalent to two months of Starlink's average revenue per user for each customer successfully converted. This arrangement was revealed in a recent financial filing by EchoStar, Hughesnet's parent company.
The deal includes an initial payment upon customer enrollment and a second payment on the one-year anniversary of their switch. Hughesnet customers who transition to Starlink may also receive a free Starlink dish for the first year. This program emerges as Hughesnet grapples with substantial financial challenges, including a warning of its inability to continue as a going concern and significant debt.
Hughesnet has experienced a steep decline in its subscriber numbers, falling from 1.56 million in 2020 to 783,000 in September. Analysts suggest this referral program could be a strategic move by Starlink to secure customers amid growing competition, including from Amazon's upcoming satellite internet service. EchoStar's other entities, Dish Network and Boost Mobile, have already begun promoting Starlink sales.
