SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on Friday that Starlink will come out of beta-testing mode in October, a key step toward a wider launch.
Earlier this year, Musk said SpaceX hoped to bring Starlink out of beta by the end of the summer. The CEO said Starlink users were seeing improvements in the service's internet speeds and the company hoped to have the internet service "full mobile" by the end of summer, meaning customers would be able to use it in moving vehicles or between different addresses.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2021
Insider's Kate Duffy reported earlier this year that Starlink users were seeing even faster internet speeds than SpaceX had advertised, hitting speeds of 175 Mbps.
To date, SpaceX has launched over 1,700 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to the company's fillings with the Federal Communications Commission. Though, Musk has said he eventually wants to send up to 42,000 satellites into space, completely enveloping the Earth. Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen has reported that scientists worry Musk's satellites could create issues with space-junk and make astronomy on Earth near "impossible."
Interest in Starlink appears to have been picking up steam recently. In February, Musk said SpaceX had over 10,000 Starlink subscribers. In August, CNBC reported that Starlink had added over 80,000 more users to its $99 per month service.
