Satellite service Starlink has entered the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for the first time. With 76 points out of 100, it took third place among the 12 largest US non-fiber internet providers, the index reported.
Only two fixed 5G services ranked higher—Verizon 5G Home Internet with 79 points and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet with 78. Starlink is the only satellite operator in the top three.
Every other provider scored lower. Cox came closest with 72 points, followed by AT&T Internet, Spectrum, and Xfinity at 71 each. Optimum and Xtream finished with 64 points and Frontier Communications with 63. No cable or DSL provider in the category outscored Starlink.
The non-fiber segment averaged 71 points, five below Starlink. The US internet provider industry as a whole scored 73, up 1% from a year earlier.
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ACSI measures fiber operators separately. That category averages 76 points, the same score Starlink received, and is led by AT&T Fiber with 79.
The result stands out because Starlink runs on very different infrastructure. Subscribers connect through a constellation in low Earth orbit that now exceeds 11,000 satellites, some of which Chinese rocket debris recently put at risk.
SpaceX is also expanding on the US telecom market. The company is considering buying spectrum from carriers or bidding at an FCC auction to launch its own mobile operator.
The 2026 ACSI results are based on surveys conducted between April 2025 and March 2026.
