--- title: "SpaceX Has a Major Problem With Its Starlink Internet Connections" description: "Starlink's internet connection has gotten way slower — and analysts are blaming it on the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet service's popularity." date: "2022-09-24" modified: "2022-09-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/starlink-internet-connection-problem" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "satellite internet" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" --- # SpaceX Has a Major Problem With Its Starlink Internet Connections ![Starlink's internet connection has gotten way slower — and analysts are blaming it on the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet service's popularity.]() *Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks up as he addresses guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway on August 29, 2022. - The meeting, held in Stavanger from August 29 to September 1, 2022, presents the latest developments in Norway and internationally related to the energy, oil and gas sector. - Norway OUT (Photo by Carina Johansen / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT (Photo by CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty\* When SpaceX's Starlink internet service first launched as a beta in 2020, many of the headlines were about its [blazingly fast speeds](). The problem, according to [new report]() from internet speed testing site Ookla, is that the more people get on the service, the slower it seems to get. The report, [spotted by *PC Gamer*](), found that Starlink users in the United States and Canada have seen a steep decline in their download speeds that can likely be attributed to congestion from more and more people using the service. "Starlink speeds decreased in every country we surveyed over the past year as more users sign up for service," reads the Ookla report, which draws on data from Speedtest.net. Median download speeds dropped between five and 54 percent from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022 in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and New Zealand. From Q1 to Q2 2022 in the US, Starlink's median download rate dropped from more than 90 Megabits per second (Mbps) to about 62.5 Mbps, *PC Gamer* pointed out. During that same period in Canada, Starlink's download speed dropped a similar amount, going from 97.4 Mbps to 75.73 Mbps. That's not abjectly terrible, but it does bring some of the hype around the service — a consumer-oriented package meant to [bankroll more ambitious ventures]() by the Elon Musk-led space company, like [colonizing Mars]() — crashing back to Earth. Interestingly, Starlink in Puerto Rico and Mexico ended up being faster than the same service in the US and Canada, and fixed broadband internet in the latter two countries was faster than satellite internet. As *PC Gamer* notes, these drops in Starlink download speeds come as more and more people are using the Musk-fronted satellite internet company — and as people take to social media to complain about the noticeable slowdown of their WiFi. "I’ve been on since beta testing," one user [on the r/Starlink subreddit wrote](). "It worked amazing at the beginning, but now they oversold the cells and we have 'peak hours' for all of the usable internet hours." "I no longer recommend \[S\]tarlink to anyone," the user concluded. In [another post](), a user noted that their Starlink download speed dropped to just five Mbps — much lower than the 60-ish Mbps threshold at which one can adequately stream and game. Still, the company continues to [throw satellite constellations up]() into low-Earth orbit like candy. Maybe if the [sky gets congested enough](), it'll solve some of the congestion down on the ground. **READ MORE:** [Starlink Speeds Drop Significantly in the US Amid Congestion Woes]() \[*PC Gamer*\] **More on Starlink:** *[Elon Musk's Starlink Internet Dishes are Attracting Cats]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()