Elon Musk has disclosed that Starlink has received more than 500,000 orders, most of which will be filled.
Starlink is the satellite constellation being deployed by Musk’s SpaceX company for the purpose of delivering high-speed internet access to underserved communities. Because Starlink is in low-Earth orbit, it is able to deliver speeds and latency on par with terrestrial broadband.
The service had over 10,000 users as of February, but it appears there are far more interested in signing up. Some 500,000 have signed up for access, paying a deposit to be on the waiting list. Although Musk expects the majority of those will receive service, the deposits they paid are fully refundable, meaning any who don’t receive service will get a refund.
Only limitation is high density of users in urban areas. Most likely, all of the initial 500k will receive service. More of a challenge when we get into the several million user range.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2021