Starlink’s global footprint

Starlink says it now provides internet service in more than 150 markets, pushing its network from rural backstop to global utility. (starlink.com) The company’s availability map says Starlink is live in 150-plus countries, territories and other markets, with roaming service sold “anywhere” in those markets from $50 a month. The same page says the network delivers more than 99.9% average uptime and download speeds of up to 400 megabits per second in most places. (starlink.com) In its 2025 progress report, SpaceX said Starlink added more than 4.6 million active customers in 2025 alone and expanded into 35 additional markets during the year. The report also said Starlink’s direct-to-cell system, which connects ordinary phones through satellites, had reached more than 12 million people at least once after SpaceX launched more than 650 of those satellites in 18 months. (starlink.com) Starlink works by using thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, which means they fly much closer to the planet than older communications satellites and can cut delay in the connection. Southwest Airlines said in a February 11, 2026 press release that Starlink’s constellation now includes more than 9,000 satellites. (southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com) That reach has turned the system into transport infrastructure as much as home internet. SpaceX said in its 2025 report that Starlink served more than 21 million airline passengers and more than 20 million cruise passengers during the year. (starlink.com) Airlines are now selling Starlink as a cabin upgrade, not a niche add-on. Southwest said its first Starlink-equipped aircraft will enter service in summer 2026 and that more than 300 aircraft should have the system by the end of 2026 across its network in 11 countries. (southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com) At sea, SpaceX markets Starlink as internet for merchant vessels, fishing fleets and research operations, with service starting at $250 a month and hardware priced at $1,999. Its maritime page says the ruggedized terminal is built for 10-year survivability, can handle winds above 170 miles per hour, and works in international waters. (starlink.com) The same logic applies at the edges of the map. MIT Technology Review reported in February 2024 that Starlink had begun reshaping life at Antarctic bases, where workers had long depended on slow, limited links to the outside world. (technologyreview.com) In disasters, Starlink pitches itself as a rapid-deployment backup when floods, earthquakes and hurricanes knock out local networks. Its emergency response page says the company runs a crisis team around the clock and ships kits into disaster zones worldwide. (starlink.com) In war zones, the network has become part of military and political leverage as well as communications. Reuters reported on February 5, 2026 that Ukrainian officials said Starlink terminals used by Russian forces had been deactivated, underscoring how a private satellite network can shape battlefield access. (usnews.com) The result is a communications system that now spans homes, planes, ships, polar stations and emergency crews with the same basic hardware pointed at the sky. SpaceX’s own map still frames the pitch in plain terms: high-speed internet from space, available across more than 150 markets. (starlink.com)