News
Newest event first. Each item shows the event date, publish date and last update, links its source and keeps a correction log. Items about events more than 90 days old are marked Background. Feeds: news RSS · everything.
NewsHelp-text changes· Event Oct 5, 2026
Two Starlink help articles give different answers on surcharges after Standby (observed Oct. 5, 2026)
Starlink's surcharge article says one may apply when resuming from Standby; its Standby article still says it will not. Both were modified April 9, 2026.
NewsNetwork and satellites· Event Sep 28, 2026
Starship Flight 14 puts the first 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit (September 2026)
Starship's 14th flight, on September 28, 2026, reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the first V3 units meant for service.
NewsSpeeds· Event Sep 15, 2026
Ookla: share of Starlink users reaching 100/20 Mbps doubled year over year in 1H 2026
Ookla's US broadband report for the first half of 2026, reported September 15, 2026, said the share of Starlink users meeting 100/20 Mbps doubled from a year earlier.
NewsRegulatory· Event Aug 14, 2026
FCC broadband report says Starlink has over 7 million American subscribers (August 2026)
The FCC's 2026 Section 706 report, released August 14, 2026, said Starlink has over 7 million American subscribers, far above SpaceX's last stated US figure.
NewsNetwork and satellites· Event Aug 4, 2026
SpaceX reports 12.0 million Starlink subscribers at the end of June 2026
SpaceX's first quarterly results, filed August 4, 2026, put Starlink at 12.0 million subscribers on June 30, 2026, up 1.7 million in three months.
NewsNetwork and satellites· Event Jul 24, 2026
Starship Flight 13 deploys the first 20 Starlink V3 satellites on a test flight (July 2026)
Starship's 13th test flight in late July 2026 deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites. They were not placed in operational orbit and re-entered as planned.
NewsSurcharges· Event Jul 16, 2026
CNET: Starlink customers report demand surcharges as high as $1,500, some without notice (July 16, 2026)
CNET reported on July 16, 2026 that Starlink customers described demand surcharges up to $1,500, with Pacific Northwest amounts having risen from $100 to $1,000.
BackgroundSurcharges· Event Jul 5, 2026
Press reports describe $1,500 demand surcharges in parts of Alaska and $750 to $1,500 elsewhere (July 2026)
A July 5, 2026 Futurism report said Starlink demand surcharges had risen from $100 in 2024 to $1,500 in parts of Alaska, citing PCMag and customer posts.
BackgroundSurcharges· Event Jul 2, 2026
Customer billed a $1,500 surcharge after an address-record change, later refunded (report, July 2026)
A July 2, 2026 report described a Starlink customer charged a $1,500 demand surcharge after a small coordinate change in their address record, then refunded.
BackgroundSpeeds· Event May 20, 2026
SpaceX's IPO filing put Starlink's peak-hour residential median at 225 Mbps (May 2026)
SpaceX's S-1, filed May 20, 2026, said residential users got a median 225 Mbps download at peak hours as of March 31, 2026, with about 10.3 million subscribers.
BackgroundSpeeds· Event May 5, 2026
Ookla: Starlink median download above 100 Mbps in every state but Alaska (2H 2025 data)
Ookla data for the second half of 2025, reported May 5, 2026, showed Starlink median downloads over 100 Mbps in 49 states, up from 23 states a year earlier.
BackgroundHelp-text changes· Event Apr 9, 2026
Starlink's surcharge help article now says Standby does not waive the fee and lists address moves (Apr. 2026)
Starlink's demand surcharge article, modified April 9, 2026, says Standby only preserves prior eligibility and spells out when moves and plan switches trigger a fee.
BackgroundHelp-text changes· Event Apr 9, 2026
Starlink help text says there are 'currently no sold-out regions in the United States' (Apr. 2026)
Starlink's reactivation help article, modified April 9, 2026, says there are currently no sold-out regions in the US and that US customers can resume Residential.
BackgroundSold out and waitlists· Event Feb 12, 2026
Starlink says it removed waitlists in every country where it is available (Feb. 12, 2026)
On February 12, 2026, Starlink posted that it had removed waitlists in every country where it is available. What that does and does not mean for US buyers.
BackgroundSold out and waitlists· Event Jan 27, 2026
Report: Washington, Oregon and North Carolina off sold-out status, with surcharges instead (Jan. 2026)
A January 27, 2026 report said Washington, Oregon and North Carolina were no longer sold out, with Pacific Northwest surcharges down to $500 and Alaska up to $1,500.
BackgroundRegulatory· Event Jan 9, 2026
FCC approves 7,500 more Starlink Gen2 satellites, for 15,000 in total (Jan. 9, 2026)
On January 9, 2026 the FCC let SpaceX add 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing approved Gen2 satellites to 15,000, with lower shells and conditions.
BackgroundNetwork and satellites· Event Jan 1, 2026
Starlink to lower about 4,400 satellites from 550 km to 480 km during 2026
On January 1, 2026, Starlink's VP of engineering said about 4,400 satellites would move from about 550 km to 480 km over 2026, citing space safety.
BackgroundNetwork and satellites· Event Jul 16, 2025
Starlink network update gave a US median peak-hour latency of 25.7 ms (July 2025)
A July 2025 Starlink network update reported 25.7 ms median peak-hour latency in the US, over 100 US gateway sites and a 2026 target for V3 satellites.
BackgroundSurcharges· Event Jun 23, 2025
Demand surcharge reported at $750 in Seattle, Portland, Spokane and Coeur d'Alene (June 2025)
June 2025 reports said Starlink charged new customers a one-time $750 in several Northwest metros, $500 in Asheville and $250 in Anchorage and Phoenix.
BackgroundSpeeds· Event Jun 12, 2025
Ookla: US Starlink median download reached 104.71 Mbps in Q1 2025
Ookla Speedtest data for Q1 2025, reported June 12, 2025, put Starlink's US median download at 104.71 Mbps, with upload at 14.84 Mbps and latency at 45 ms.
BackgroundSurcharges· Event Apr 22, 2025
Congestion charge reported at $250 in Sacramento, San Diego and Phoenix (April 2025)
An April 22, 2025 report, citing PCMag, said Starlink raised its one-time congestion charge from $100 to $250 for new orders in three metro areas.
BackgroundSold out and waitlists· Event Feb 27, 2025
Sold-out areas reported to expand to eastern Florida, eastern North Carolina and central Arizona (Feb. 2025)
A February 27, 2025 report said Starlink's sold-out areas had grown to parts of eastern Florida, eastern North Carolina and the area around Phoenix.
BackgroundSold out and waitlists· Event Nov 20, 2024
Starlink's map showed 'sold out' in parts of the US in November 2024
In November 2024 Starlink's availability map marked areas around Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Diego, Sacramento and Austin as sold out for Residential.
BackgroundSurcharges· Event Sep 20, 2024
A $100 one-time congestion charge for new Starlink orders was first reported in September 2024
Press reports in September 2024 described a $100 one-time charge on new Starlink Residential orders in congested areas. The background to today's surcharge.
No items in this category.
Monthly Field Notes
The record opened on Oct 5, 2026. The first monthly note will follow the first full month of reports. Each one is dated and stays at its own address, so it can be cited.
What every monthly note contains
- Reports received, accepted and rejected, with rejection reasons
- Counties that crossed the publish threshold this month
- Press reports added to the press layer, with links
- Any change to Starlink's support articles on surcharges or capacity, with the article's modified date
- Any change to our own method, also logged on the method page
News items end with a labeled “Check coverage & plans” box that uses the site owner’s own Starlink referral link; it never shapes what we report. Independent, not affiliated with SpaceX. See the editorial policy.