Out of space: Picturing the big, crowded business of satellite internet

The idea of a space-based internet is almost as old as the internet itself.

In 1993, the Hughes Aircraft Company filed for a license with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to develop Spaceway, a high-speed global satellite internet service — the first of its kind. But for decades, widespread success in the industry was fleeting. By the early 2000s, several companies attempting to develop such a service had either declared bankruptcy or given up. Mobile internet was just too cheap and easy to compete with.

But thanks to a rush in technological advancements in the past decade, satellite internet has exploded in popularity, reaching areas where traditional land-based internet infrastructure is sparse or nonexistent, at increasingly reasonable prices. 

Starlink, the most dominant satellite internet provider in the world, is practically synonymous with the industry. The Elon Musk-owned company has over 5 million customers, and is available in 125 countries and regions, covering about half of all the countries and territories in the world. In some countries, a Starlink subscription is even cheaper than the leading fixed internet service provider. Now, private companies and governments around the world are scrambling to bring their own alternatives online. 

Eutelsat OneWeb, based in the U.K., is considered Starlink’s main global commercial competitor. The company delivers services through partnerships with governments, traditional ISPs, and other enterprises. Globalstar, based in the U.S., has dozens of satellites, and partners with Apple to provide texting services to newer iPhones. Amazon’s Project Kuiper launched the first phase of its fleet in April, and Orbit Connect India, a partnership between Jio Platforms and the Luxembourg-based SES, is currently developing a satellite internet service for India. 

Governments and multinational unions around the world are increasingly leery of relying on Starlink, and building their own alternatives. The EU is financing its satellite internet service, IRIS2, through a mix of government agencies and private companies, with plans to launch satellites by 2029. China is developing multiple state-backed satellite internet providers with a global reach. QianFan, or Space Sail, is reportedly in talks with over 30 countries and has signed deals in countries where Starlink has faced regulatory issues, legal proceedings, or backlash, including Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Malaysia.

Despite the billions of dollars of investment, and the thousands of satellites zipping around our planet, it’s still hard to really picture the satellite internet industry. So Rest of World pulled together data to help visualize the industry, and bring it down to earth.

Over the past five years, putting internet satellites into space has become big business, with millions of customers, billions in revenue, and scores of rockets. The vast majority of these rockets are operated by SpaceX, and fly out of California and Florida. It’s estimated that in 2025 alone, a SpaceX rocket has carried Starlink satellites into space every three days, on average. Although the price of putting anything into space has dropped precipitously over the past 60 years, it can still cost roughly $60 million per launch for satellites. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is able to ferry 23 satellites into space on each journey.

Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched in space, weighed just 84 kilograms (184 pounds). Today’s internet satellites vary widely in size and weight.

Starlink is sending more satellites into space every year. In the first five months of 2025 alone, the company launched 51 rockets. On average, that’s one satellite launch every three days.

Internet satellites orbit Earth at a relatively low elevation — galactically speaking. They live in low Earth orbit, an area of space with an altitude of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). In theory, LEO is a vast three-dimensional territory that could contain many millions of satellites — more than we would ever need.

Some researchers have created a model for how many satellites could fit in LEO, taking into account how far apart they should be spaced to reduce the risk of collisions. They estimate that LEO could theoretically hold up to 12.6 million satellites.

But others have warned that even 1 million satellites in LEO — the number of satellites that were filed for approval with the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency, between 2017 and 2022 — pose a risk because of a greater chance for collisions and debris surviving reentry and falling out of the sky.

Most of the active satellites currently orbiting Earth are used for communications. Starlink operates the vast majority of them.

For users in remote or previously underserved regions, satellite internet has the potential to be revolutionary, providing faster service, at a cheaper price point, more consistently. 

In at least five countries in Africa, Starlink is already cheaper than the leading fixed internet service providers.

Price of Starlink vs. leading ISP, per month

The lifespan of an internet satellite is short, and predestined. Because of atmospheric drag and the debris that accumulates on a low-altitude satellite, the average lifespan of a single LEO satellite is approximately five years, after which it reenters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up into oblivion.

In order to maintain service, companies like Starlink will have to continuously replenish the constellation of internet satellites orbiting our planet indefinitely.

SpaceX began deorbiting one satellite, for instance, in early February 2025 in an effort to replace its first-generation satellites with newer ones that have better capabilities. The satellite was shut down and left to deorbit on its own in March, and it burned up in the atmosphere in April.

Some small parts of a satellite might not fully burn up, causing them to fall to Earth. SpaceX has said that debris from its newest satellites is designed to land on Earth with less than 3 joules of energy, which is well below industry standards. But last year, debris from a SpaceX satellite — about the size of a laptop — fell to the ground in Canada.