SpaceX’s Starlink secures more spectrum and carriers as it surpasses 8 million customers

SpaceX is purchasing another $2.6 billion worth of wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar, an expansion of a $17 billion deal announced in September, as satellite internet company Starlink continues to win new customers around the world.

The spectrum sale comes just one day after SpaceX announced it had surpassed 8 million global customers. On Thursday, the company added more commercial contracts to this total. The international airline group has announced that it will install Starlink in-flight internet on more than 500 aircraft across its group, which includes British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

The additional EchoStar spectrum will be used to grow Starlink’s emerging “direct-to-cell” constellation, which initially allows T-Mobile customers to access 5G satellite internet.

EchoStar began unloading its spectrum licenses earlier this year after pressure from the Federal Communications Commission and the Trump administration. Trump personally asked EchoStar’s CEO to sell the licenses, according to Bloomberg.

Its sale to SpaceX in September ended EchoStar’s plans to build a constellation of satellites directly to the device. However, SpaceX wasn’t the only buyer of the EchoStar spectrum. In August, the company sold $23 billion worth of spectrum licenses to AT&T.

The deal with International Airlines Group will see Starlink added to aircraft starting in 2026. The European group will make Starlink available on short-haul, long-haul and global routes — essentially every aircraft not scheduled for retirement, according to a press release.

Starlink has been creeping across the airline industry in the past few years. It started with small planes and private jets in 2022, but quickly established large commercial partnerships, with Hawaiian Airlines being the first. United Airlines announced a deal to integrate Starlink internet in late 2024 and then accelerated the rollout earlier this year. Qatar Airways has outfitted dozens of its widebody aircraft in collaboration with Starlink this year as well.

All of this has helped SpaceX reach more than 8 million Starlink customers in 150 different countries. This is up from 6 million in June.