Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink restored its service early Monday after a significant outage impacted more than 40,000 users across the United States. The disruption, which occurred shortly after midnight Eastern Time, caused widespread connectivity issues in multiple US cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, and Washington, D.C..
According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, reports of disrupted Starlink service peaked at over 43,000 users before dropping sharply by 1:15 a.m. ET to fewer than 1,000. The company’s website briefly displayed a message acknowledging the service interruption and said its team was investigating, although the message was later removed without further details.
Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, provides broadband internet via a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. The service is particularly vital in rural and remote areas lacking traditional infrastructure, and it also plays a crucial role in conflict zones, such as Ukraine, where more than 50,000 Starlink terminals are reportedly in use to support communications and drone operations.
Users expressed frustration on social media as the outage temporarily left tens of thousands without internet access. Past incidents have seen apologies from Starlink and Musk, pledging swift resolution. While the cause of the outage remains unclear, the prompt restoration mitigated a longer disruption.
With Starlink’s rising importance as a global internet service provider, especially in underserved regions, maintaining uptime is critical. The outage highlights the challenges inherent in satellite network operations but offers reassurance in the company’s quick response and resolution capabilities.
