Starlink service has 633 activated subscribers in Vietnam after three months of operation, according to statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Starlink was developed by SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk. In August, the company began providing services in the domestic market and was also the first foreign enterprise allowed to pilot satellite Internet.

With 633 subscribers, Starlink's customer base in Vietnam accounts for a very small percentage compared to the total number of users globally. According to SpaceX's third quarter 2026 financial report, the service had a total of 13.6 million subscribers, as of the end of September.

A network operator representative said that price is the first barrier that prevents Starlink from reaching the general customer base. The American company currently offers two packages for individual users, including the Family package with a maximum speed of 100 Mbps priced at 1,131,990 VND and the unlimited speed package priced at 1,711,100 VND per month. In addition to the subscription fee, users must buy a terminal device, with two options: Mini priced at 8.6 million VND and Standard 4 X priced at 10.3 million VND.

Thus, to start using satellite Internet, Vietnamese users must spend a minimum of nearly 9 million VND, not including shipping fees, much higher than the fixed Internet "floor price" of 195,000 VND.

The next barrier is the popularity of terrestrial Internet services. 4G mobile networks currently cover 99.8% of the population, while 5G has also covered more than 90%. More than 87% of Vietnamese households already have fiber optic Internet.

A survey by VnExpress earlier this year with 8,500 participants showed that 74% do not plan to choose Starlink because terrestrial telecommunications services have met the needs. Meanwhile, 15% said there is a need and 11% are considering it.

According to Mr. Doan Quang Hoan, Vice President of the Vietnam Radio Electronics Association, "It is difficult for Starlink to have a market to become a universal broadband provider", because the initial goal of the service is to bring Internet to areas without terrestrial network connections. Meanwhile, Vietnam still has very few remote villages that are not yet connected.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said that of the total number of activated Starlink subscribers, a large proportion are in signal-hole areas. As of November 1, satellite Internet was activated at 196 signal points, including 154 villages and 42 public establishments.

Although the scale is not large, satellite Internet is an important piece to complete telecommunications infrastructure. This is a solution to connect villages and hamlets with telecommunications waves, while waiting for the deployment of ground infrastructure.

At the handover ceremony of Starlink equipment in September, Director of Telecommunications Department Nguyen Thanh Chung said that the service helps diversify technology and add connection methods to the national digital infrastructure. "Satellite Internet will increase communication redundancy when natural disasters, fires or incidents occur," he said.

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