Viasat's number of subscribers in the USA decreased by 6 times

Viasat subscriber numbers dropped sharply in the US. The American satellite operator has lost most of its fixed broadband internet customers. The figure was at 603 thousand in September 2020, but now it is at approximately 100 thousand. Therefore, the company lost most of its subscribers in a short time. Moreover, the decline has not stopped yet.

The timing of the decline is also important. SpaceX started offering its Starlink service to the masses in 2020. Viasat's losses also coincide with the same period. Therefore, the rise of Starlink has significantly changed the balance in the market.

The number of Viasat subscribers is decreasing every month

For example, Viasat lost another 15 thousand users in the third quarter of 2026 alone. Additionally, the customer base is decreasing by approximately 5 thousand subscribers per month on average. That's why the company's personal internet share in the US is also shrinking. However, the current subscriber base is still around 100 thousand.

Viasat is actually known as a satellite television and pay TV channel brand as well as satellite internet. The company is an international telecommunications group operating under different structures in different countries. Therefore, the figures above measure individual internet customers in the United States.

The Two Networks Work Differently

The two companies are competitors in satellite internet, but their network structures are not the same. For example, Viasat uses large geostationary satellites at an altitude of 35,786 km. These are included in the ViaSat-3 series. In addition, the distance of these satellites from the Earth extends the journey of the signal.

Starlink, on the other hand, relies on thousands of small satellites flying in low orbit, at an altitude of approximately 550 km. Therefore, the signal delay, that is, the time the data travels back and forth, remains very low. In Starlink, the delay varies between 20-40 milliseconds.

Starlink: approximately 550 km orbit, 20-40 ms latency

Viasat: 35,786 km orbit, approximately 600 ms ping

Low latency makes a difference, especially in gaming and video calls. On the other hand, Viasat's ping value is much higher. In contrast, the company's channels offer high data transfer capacity for aviation, naval fleet and government orders.

Finally, the numbers are clear. Viasat subscriber numbers continue to shrink in the US, with a loss of approximately 5 thousand per month. The current subscriber base is approximately 100 thousand.