Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starlink internet is active on all 7 continents

Elon Musk was quick to respond to Mykhailo Fedorov's plea for SpaceX to provide Starlink terminals in Ukraine.

Susan Walsh/AP

• SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet is active across all seven continents, CEO Elon Musk tweeted.
• It comes after the FCC rejected an $886 million Starlink subsidy, which would expand the service.
• The company launched 54 Starlink satellites on Sunday to add to its constellation.

Elon Musk said SpaceX's satellite internet service, Starlink, was available on every continent, meaning it had reached its goal of providing worldwide coverage.

The SpaceX CEO tweeted late on Sunday: "Starlink is now active on all continents, including Antarctica."

His post came after he tweeted on Friday that Starlink was "meant for peaceful use only."

SpaceX launched on Sunday a batch of 54 Starlink satellites after five previous attempts were scrubbed because of bad weather. These satellites have joined the 3,076 working Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit. The goal is to have up to 42,000 satellites by mid-2027.

By enveloping the Earth with thousands of satellites, the goal of Starlink is to provide high-speed internet to areas that are rural, remote, and difficult to connect to broadband service.

Ukraine is one of the most notable areas that Starlink is operating in. Musk sent Starlink terminals to the country after Ukraine's vice-prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, asked Musk in February for help.

Despite being active on seven continents, Starlink failed to get the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval for a $886 million subsidy to expand the internet service to rural homes and businesses in almost 650,000 places across 35 US states. The FCC said Starlink "failed to demonstrate that the providers could deliver the promised service."

In a regulatory filing, SpaceX called the FCC's rejection "grossly unfair" and "flawed as a matter of both law and policy."

The last figure published for Starlink's user base was in May when CNBC reported there were more than 400,000 subscribers worldwide. 

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