SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation is facing significant outages. According to a report from Down Detector, more than 65,000 people have just reported outages. Starlink confirmed the outage on X, adding that it was working to fix the issue to restore service. The service outage comes as Starlink and T-Mobile announced that their collaboration to eliminate cellular signal dead spots in the United States has completed beta testing and will be available to AT&T and Verizon customers.
In the past few years, SpaceX has rapidly developed its Starlink network and its user base has also expanded, currently covering more than 6 million users worldwide. SpaceX released data earlier this month showing average download speeds on its network of 180 Mbps and latency below 55 milliseconds. However, as the number of users grew, the network of approximately 8,000 satellites did sometimes struggle to maintain coverage in areas with higher user density.
Starlink suffered an outage today, with users reporting on Down Detector that they were unable to use the service. The initial number of reports was 7,830 at 3:10 p.m. ET, but the number quickly spiked to 61,572 less than half an hour later, at 3:25 p.m. Meanwhile, some users reported on social media that they were experiencing network outages. The reports come from accounts claiming to be from both inside and outside the United States.
Starlink confirmed it experienced a network outage at 4:05 p.m., adding that it was "actively implementing a solution." Interestingly, the outage also initially appeared to overwhelm the community-run Starlink status check page, which did not share any details about the status of SpaceX's internet service.
The network outage seemed to affect users in multiple countries, and on the same day, SpaceX and T-Mobile had just removed their cellular network coverage service called T-Satellite from test mode and no longer open to the public. T-Mobile said on social media that the service will also be available to Verizon and AT&T customers. T-Satellite service relies on more than 650 Starlink satellites that provide cellular network coverage and eliminate signal dead zones across the United States.
Starlink has not provided further details about the outage since its first update. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also commented on the outage, saying the company "will fix the glitch to ensure this never happens again." Musk apologized for the outage, adding that "service will be restored soon."
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