Have you noticed better speeds on Starlink? Download rates for SpaceX’s satellite internet service have continued to improve in the US, surging past 100Mbps to around 130Mbps.
A new report based on data from Ookla’s Speedtest.net tool shows that the median download rate rose from 100Mbps in Q1 2025 to 132Mbps in Q4, then dipped to 128Mbps in Q1 2026.
(Credit: Ookla)
That dip is interesting because it occurred when SpaceX has been offering new perks and discounts to lure more first-time customers in the US and Canada. So it’s possible Starlink has been seeing a flood of new users, thus impacting speeds, as SpaceX prepares to IPO.
Ookla also found that “Speedtest users on Starlink in every state but Alaska were able to get median download speeds of 100Mbps or higher, moving it from a last-ditch option to a viable competitor for broadband service in many areas.”
In addition, the data shows that users in 22 states experienced median upload speeds of 20Mbps or higher; previously, upload rates were closer to 15Mbps.
In a few states, download speeds also increased by 80-90%. “New Jersey, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming experienced the biggest year-over-year increase in download speeds,” Ookla adds.
(Credit: Ookla)
The data suggests SpaceX is making progress in upgrading Starlink’s internet speeds, despite network congestion and the addition of new subscribers. In 2022, Ookla found that Starlink’s download rates took a sharp dive in the US from 91Mbps to 63Mbps as the satellite internet service faced congestion woes. The Federal Communications Commission later cited the Ookla data as evidence for denying an $886 million subsidy to Starlink, despite protests from SpaceX.
Since then, Starlink speeds have not only recovered but continue to improve as SpaceX has increased the satellite count from over 3,000 to over 10,000, of which about 8,700 are in operational orbits. Last June, Ookla found Starlink speeds in the US consistently hit 100Mbps.
In Alaska, the median download rate was at 87.6Mbps from the second half of 2025. (Credit: Ookla)
Ookla now says: “44.7% of Speedtest users on Starlink in Q4 2025 were able to meet the FCC’s minimum standard of broadband speeds of 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. This is an increase over the 17.4%” from Q1 2205.
In a surprise, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tweeted about Ookla’s new report, arguing it shows the Commission was wrong to deny the $886 million subsidy to Starlink back in 2022. “I dissented at the time, explaining that the FCC’s decision could not be squared with any objective application of law, facts, or policy. The data clearly showed that Starlink was on track,” Carr wrote, adding: “The Biden era decision to revoke the award only slowed down efforts to bridge the digital divide and raised costs for doing so.”
Carr’s tweet has sparked debate. Some users agree, and wonder if the FCC can still award the funds to SpaceX. In Nov. 2024, Carr himself shot down the idea. Meanwhile, others are questioning why the US should be giving subsidies to SpaceX, given that Starlink has been operating without them. “By all means lets provide subsidies to end users if satellite equipment or airtime costs are a barrier (although that’s probably no longer the case),” tweeted satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar. “But paying Starlink a fixed monthly fee to deploy satellites that were going to be deployed anyway never made any sense.”
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In the meantime, Starlink is already slated to receive about $700 million in government funds from a separate federal program to expand high-speed internet access after the Trump administration revamped the program to some controversy.
The increasing speeds might make Starlink competitive enough to take customers away from traditional internet service providers. Starlink used to be relatively pricey, but in recent months, SpaceX has been discounting the service and offering the dish hardware for free as a rental, which has been enough to pull some customers away from an ISP in Virginia.
SpaceX also posts its own measured speeds for Starlink, which range from 108Mbps to over 300Mbps, depending on location. The company is preparing to unleash even faster speeds, including gigabit connectivity, with SpaceX’s next-generation V3 Starlink satellites. The FCC also passed new rules last week that promise to help Starlink increase its network capacity by as much as sevenfold.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with mention of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s tweet and the response. It also elaborates more about the slight dip in speeds in Q1.
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.