Starlink's customer base grows to 9,000 in two years

Starlink has grown to 9,000 commercial users within The Bahamas, and will soon be used as a tool in natural disasters, and will be in every public school, thanks to a donation by space exploration company SpaceX, Vice President of Launch at SpaceX Kiko Dontchev revealed yesterday. Starlink became a Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) licensee in 2023, and has grown its customer base steadily in that time. SpaceX continually adds satellites to its network through routine launches, thanks to its reusable Falcon 9 rocket booster.

The booster that landed successfully in Bahamian waters in February, which was the start of a partnership between The Bahamas and SpaceX to host landings, was the reason 300 Starlink systems will be provided for public schools across The Bahamas, along with a free year’s subscription. Dontchev said 56 units that are being donated to the Disaster Risk Management Authority (DRM) will ensure there is constant communication for first responders, and those affected should a natural disaster strike. “Starlink has been so critical to allowing folks to have communications when the worst happens,” said Dontchev.



“When you don’t have the ability to talk to each other, there’s misinformation spreading. You just want to tell your loved ones, I’m okay. Starlink has helped save lives.

We’re going to give that feature to The Bahamas. It’s going to be up to them. It’s going to be up to DRM to manage it when there’s an issue or a natural disaster happens.

The service is free and allows you to use and talk to your loved ones.” While Starlink is being hailed as an answer to internet expansion on the Family Islands, due to the high cost of installing and improving infrastructure on some islands for the major internet providers Cable Bahamas and Bahamas Telecommunications Company, it has also become a worrying competitor for those companies. They have asked URCA to ensure that Starlink continues to play on a level playing field, as as they roll out their own fast internet services through fiber.

Both companies have also expressed concerns that Starlink could also emerge as the next mobile phone provider in the country, given the company’s aspiration to eventually provide its satellite internet directly to phones. That threat would come from mobile phone users adopting some kind of third party application to communicate, rather than a monthly subscription tied to a phone number. Cable Bahamas and BTC have also been concerned about the rise of over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon, that could cut into cable television subscription revenue.

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