Starlink midweek updates: 100,000 UK customers, O2 Satellite on test and the install that matters

Wednesday 21 October 2026

The kit is the easy bit. The install is where the job is won or lost. This midweek round-up covers what a professional fit looks like for UK customers, then the genuinely new Starlink and LEO news since Saturday.

What a PLEO install gets UK customers

PLEO means Professional Low Earth Orbit installation. It is the difference between a dish that is simply put up and a setup that is planned, built and finished properly:

• Custom installs, surveyed first for a clear view of the sky and the right mounting point, whether that is a roof, chimney, gable, wall or pole

• Quality brackets and masts matched to the building and chosen to cope with UK wind and weather

• Cat6 made to fit on site, terminated properly, weatherproofed and routed neatly into the property

• Bespoke setups and full network services: mesh Wi-Fi, outdoor access points, wireless bridges to outbuildings and wired connections where they matter

• Listed buildings, lodges, static caravans, residential homes and commercial sites

• Health and safety on every job: safe access at height, risk assessment and a tidy, professional finish

Space Internet Solutions has PLEO installers nationwide across the UK for Starlink and Amazon Leo.

New this week: Starlink's UK customer count

The Times reported on 20 October that Starlink has around 100,000 broadband customers in the UK, out of roughly 13 million worldwide. Most are in remote and rural parts of the country, where laying cable has not been worth the cost for traditional providers. For comparison, the paper puts BT at more than 8 million customers and Virgin Media O2 at more than 5 million.

The same report notes that capacity is still the big limit for satellite broadband against full fibre, which Thinkbroadband says now covers roughly 86 per cent of the UK. That is why satellite remains strongest exactly where fibre has not arrived, and why the quality of the install matters so much in those places: a remote property usually has no second option to fall back on.

New this week: O2 Satellite put to the test

Light Reading (19 October) went out with Virgin Media O2 in Snowdonia to try O2 Satellite, the £3-a-month add-on that connects ordinary phones directly to Starlink satellites. About 650 Starlink satellites support the service so far, and for now it is data only: texts and internet-based calls work, but ordinary voice calls do not yet.

It is a useful safety net for walkers, farmers and anyone out of mobile coverage, but it is not a replacement for home or business broadband. For a property, a fixed Starlink dish with a proper mount and a clean cable run is still the answer.

Amazon Leo: next launch close

As covered on Saturday, Amazon Leo's next launch is the return to flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, scheduled for no earlier than 29 October. Amazon says it still expects to begin initial service this year, but it has not yet announced UK pricing or a UK launch date. When it arrives, the same rules apply as with Starlink: survey first, mount it properly and finish the network.

Why the install still decides the outcome

Customer numbers, phone add-ons and new constellations keep changing, but the basics of a good install do not. A dish with a partial view of the sky, a bracket that flexes in a gale or a cable pushed through a window frame will cost you performance whichever service you choose. PLEO work is about getting those basics right the first time, for homes, holiday lets, lodges, farms and businesses alike.

Need it fitted correctly? Look for a professional installer at spaceinternetsolutions.com.