Elon Musk's Starlink to provide internet nearly worldwide within weeks

Company aims to offer broadband to as much as 5% of the world's population where conventional fiber and wireless networks can't reach.

Elon Musk’s satellite network Starlink is on track to beam broadband internet everywhere in the world except the polar regions by August.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has launched more than 1,500 satellites so far and has Starlink operations in about a dozen countries, Musk said during a presentation at the Mobile World Congress conference on Tuesday. That’s costing a lot. SpaceX’s total investment in the network will be between $5 billion and $10 billion before cash flow is positive, he said.

Some $20 billion or $30 billion may be needed in the longer term to maintain Starlink’s competitive position, Musk