Policyband

Starlink Rockets Past the 10 Million Subscriber Mark Globally, Adds 1 Million Subs in Just 53 Days

Is there really a need for BEAD when Starlink is likely adding 225,000 U.S. rural customers every 50 days on average?

Ted Hearn

Feb 17, 2026 — 9 min read

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■ NCTA CEO: Broadband ‘Prices Have Remained Largely Stable’ ■ NTIA Ignored Calls to Return $21 Billion in BEAD Funds to Taxpayers ■ CATO Fellow Asks FTC to Back Away from Apple News Oversight ■ Starlink Apparently Makes Airlines Offer Its Wi-Fi Service for Free ■ CCA: BEAD Creating Labor Shortages in Dealing with Rip and Replace ■ West Virginia Senate Passes Bill Aimed at NewsGuard ■ Louisiana Says It Cut the First BEAD Check ■ CTA CEO Gary Shapiro Stepping Down May 1 ■ Florida Bill Fines Telecom Carriers $250,000 for Not Blocking Scam Calls, Texts

Elon: At SpaceX, Elon Musk announces the big news. “Starlink now at 10 million active users,” Musk said on his X feed Friday. SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell was in orbit. “Yaaaay!!! Crossed the 10M active customers mark. So happy to connect so many around the world!,” she said on her X feed. It took Starlink just 53 days to tack on another 1 million subs across 160 countries, and if global distribution trends held up, then Starlink added about 225,000 customers just in the U.S. since Dec. 22, 2025. Adding 225,000 in the U.S. every 50 days on average would mean Starlink is on track to add about 1.6 million U.S. subscribers in 2026 – which is approximately 47% of the 3.4 million locations across the U.S. currently without 100/20 Mbps terrestrial service and are the focus of the $21 billion in taxpayer money dedicated to providing universal broadband access under the BEAD program. (More after paywall)