Starlink Surpasses 12 Million Users, Threatening Conventional Telecom Operators

Starlink, the satellite-based internet service under Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is seeing increasing adoption across various parts of the world. In a post on the official Starlink X account, it was announced that its user base has surpassed 12 million people.

“Starlink connects more than 12 million active high-speed internet subscribers in over 160 countries,” wrote the Starlink X account, as reported on Friday (5/6/2026).

The high demand for Starlink has revived concerns regarding the fate of conventional mobile network operators. As is well known, satellite internet can provide connectivity in remote areas that are difficult to reach with conventional infrastructure.

According to a Reuters report, the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite business is expected to disrupt the United States telecommunications industry, which is valued at US$1.6 trillion or approximately Rp29,200 trillion.

While Starlink is widely used in remote areas, disaster zones, and war zones, its growth also has the potential to gradually erode the market share of traditional telecommunications players.

In a recently released research note, brokerage firm Oppenheimer stated that conventional broadband service providers, such as AT&T, are among the parties most at risk of being impacted by Starlink’s growth.

Oppenheimer has even raised its revenue projections for the global space industry for 2035 to US$800 billion from a previous estimate of US$500 billion.

This revision comes ahead of the highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, which is scheduled to take place this month.

Starlink’s expansion is also expected to further pressure cable companies that are currently facing a trend of declining subscribers.

According to Oppenheimer, several major telecommunications operators, such as AT&T, Verizon Communications, and T-Mobile, could potentially experience faster declines in subscriber numbers and revenue in the coming years.

The firm assesses that Starlink will further consolidate its position across various essential applications and services, enabling it to reduce customer churn rates and increase the company’s bargaining power in setting prices.