Active satellites operated by the major commercial connectivity players, early-to-mid 2026. Starlink alone is roughly 65% of all active satellites of any type in orbit, which is why every other operator looks small beside it. Bars are colored by service type: broadband (Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper), voice and IoT (Iridium, Globalstar), and direct-to-cell (AST SpaceMobile).

Starlink reported active customers at milestone dates, from 1 million at the end of 2022 to 12 million on June 4, 2026. Growth accelerated sharply in 2025 and 2026: Starlink added more than 4.6 million customers in 2025 alone. The customer base spans residential, business, mobility, and direct-to-cell.

Direct-to-cell connects ordinary, unmodified phones straight to satellites. Three very different approaches: AST SpaceMobile builds a few enormous phased-array satellites for full broadband to phones, Starlink adds direct-to-cell payloads across its large constellation for text-first service, and Globalstar powers Apple's emergency-only messaging.