Elon Musk claimed at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference on Tuesday that SpaceX's satellite internet network, Starlink, could have around 500,000 subscribers over the next 12 months. Musk stated that SpaceX's current objective is to provide broadband internet to the majority of the world by August. Since 2018, the internet network, which is still in open beta, has put over 1,700 satellites into low-Earth orbit and just achieved a "strategically crucial" milestone of 69,420 active subscribers, Musk told MWC. Starlink, he added, is now operational in 12 nations and is growing. He said, "I believe we're on our way to having a few hundred thousand members, perhaps over 500,000 people over the next 12 months." Starlink has set a lofty target of reaching half a million customers in the next year and providing global internet access — except the Arctic areas — in the next two months. The internet service will be marketed directly to consumers in the world's most remote locations, as well as to governments seeking improved military internet connections (among other customers). Many individual customers are paying $99 per month for internet as part of the beta program, which includes a $499 package that includes a self-aligning Starlink dish and a Wi-Fi router. SpaceX promises download speeds of 100Mbps and upload rates of 20Mbps. So far, the reviews have been mixed. On the road to launching a commercial business and delivering worldwide internet access, there are several obstacles to overcome. While each Starlink terminal costs $499 for customers, Musk acknowledged during the conference that SpaceX pays more than $1,000 for each terminal. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell stated in April that the business had already lowered the terminal cost in half, from $3,000 to the “few hundred dollar level over the next year or two.” Musk has stated that avoiding bankruptcy is a top priority for SpaceX as company navigates a deep abyss of negative cash flow. OneWeb, Starlink's major competitor, declared bankruptcy last year and has since rebounded. Musk stated that the Starlink team had inked agreements with two "big nation" telecom carriers, but did not name them. Starlink, he believes, will be a "complementary" to existing 5G carriers rather than a direct competitor. “You can think of Starlink as filling in the gaps between 5G and fiber, and truly going to the hardest-to-reach regions of the world,” he explained. Musk responded it depends on how you define investment when asked how much he'll have to put in Starlink. “Before we go to positive cash flow, it’ll be at least $5 billion, and maybe as much as $10 [billion]. So it’s quite a lot,” he said, adding, “We’ll have to keep investing a great deal after that point” to remain relevant among competitors. The total Starlink investment will round out to $20–30 billion, he said. Once the network is fully up and running, SpaceX hopes it could generate around $30 billion in revenue with Starlink and maybe even split it off from SpaceX for an IPO. The majority of the money will go toward SpaceX's Starship system, which is at the heart of Musk's plans to send humans to the Moon and Mars. Musk, who is notorious for throwing out overly optimistic development schedules, stated at the conference that the first orbital Starship test launch might happen “in the next few months” – a somewhat different date than Shotwell suggested a few days before at a conference.