SpaceX announced plans to begin launching its third-generation Starlink satellites in the first half of 2026. These new satellites are designed to provide over a terabit per second of downlink capacity, which is more than 10 times the capacity of the previous generation. Additionally, the uplink capacity will exceed 200 Gbps, a 24-fold increase compared to current satellites. As of mid-2025, Starlink serves over 6 million customers across 140 countries, delivering a median peak-hour downlink speed of approximately 200 Mbps and a median peak-hour latency of 25.7 milliseconds in the United States. Less than 1% of latency measurements exceed 55 milliseconds, outperforming many terrestrial internet providers. Over the past year, Starlink added 42 new countries and 2.7 million active users, achieving a cumulative network capacity of around 450 Tbps. SpaceX is currently deploying over 5 Tbps of capacity per week with its second-generation satellites and plans to launch more than 400 additional satellites to polar orbits by the end of 2025 to double capacity for high-latitude regions such as Alaska. Industry surveys indicate that Starlink’s latency is significantly lower than rival satellite internet providers HughesNet and Viasat. The company aims to launch the first third-generation satellites next year, contingent on the successful operation of its Starship launch vehicle.