Musk's Starlink internet speed drops as more users sign up for service

Elon Musk-run affordable satellite internet service Starlink is expanding fast -- from Antarctica to Royal Caribbean cruise ships -- but its speed has decreased in almost all countries it operates as more users opt for it.

According to a new report from network intelligence firm Ookla, the median download speeds for Starlink fell across Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and the US, dropping between 9 per cent and 54 per cent from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022 as more users signed up for the service.

Starlink's data upload speeds also slowed, with speeds decreasing across all of the countries.

However, Starlink still reached a median download speed of at least 60 Mbps in North America during Q2, which is more than enough for at least one connected device to do most everything on the internet including streaming video, downloading games, and chatting on video with friends and family.

Satellite connectivity is coming to mobile, with Starlink's new partnership with T-Mobile and new mobile devices becoming satellite enabled.

Starlink isn't stopping there -- they're trying to get into airplanes, cruise ships, and cars.

"But they're not the only satellite provider making moves; Viasat is launching its Viasat-3 fleet, OneWeb is combining business with Eutelsat, and Amazon is sending 3,236 Project Kuiper satellites into orbit," said the report.

Starlink latency fared a little better with latency remaining relatively flat (though high when compared to fixed broadband) in most countries.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said this week that Starlink, the satellite Internet division of his rocket company, is now active on all the continents, including Antarctica.

He also said "another batch with lasers reaches orbit" after the deployment of 54 Starlink satellites was confirmed by the company.

Starlink can offer speeds around 50-200 Mbps.