Just you wait A year after ditching waitlist, Starlink says it is sold out in parts of US SpaceX's Starlink doesn't have enough capacity for everyone who wants it. Jon Brodkin Nov 19, 2024 5:11 pm | 32 The standard Starlink satellite dish. Credit: Starlink The standard Starlink satellite dish. Credit: Starlink Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe Starlink waitlist is back in certain parts of the US, including several large cities on the West Coast and in Texas. The Starlink availability map says the service is sold out in and around Seattle; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; Sacramento, California; and Austin, Texas. Neighboring cities and towns are included in the sold-out zones.There are additional sold-out areas in small parts of Colorado, Montana, and North Carolina. As PCMag noted yesterday, the change comes about a year after Starlink added capacity and removed its waitlist throughout the US.Elsewhere in North America, there are some sold-out areas in Canada and Mexico. Across the Atlantic, Starlink is sold out in London and neighboring cities. Starlink is not yet available in most of Africa, and some of the areas where it is available are sold out.Starlink is generally seen as most useful in rural areas with less access to wired broadband, but it seems to be attracting interest in more heavily populated areas, too. While detailed region-by-region subscriber numbers aren't available publicly, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said last week that Starlink has nearly 5 million users worldwide.Capacity problemsIt's been clear for a while that Starlink has enough capacity in much of its network and capacity problems in other areas. This was reflected in pricing as Starlink has a $100 "congestion charge" and used to offer lower monthly prices in areas with excess capacity. The SpaceX division offers broadband from over 6,600 satellites and is frequently launching more.It's still possible to order in waitlisted areas, but it's unclear how long people will have to wait. A message in the checkout system says, "Starlink is at capacity in your area. Order now to reserve your Starlink. You will receive a notification once your Starlink is ready to ship." A $99 deposit is required.PCMag notes that users can "bypass the waitlist by subscribing to the pricier Starlink Roam tier." However, they could run into performance problems in congested areas with Roam, which is marketed for use while traveling, not as a fixed home Internet service. Starlink could also block Roam service in specific areas.Roam costs $599 up-front for hardware and $50 a month for 50GB of data, or $165 for unlimited service. Residential Starlink has a hardware price of $349 and monthly service price of $120.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 32 Comments Prev story