Starlink Adds 3 New Ground Stations in Spain, Bringing Total Operational Sites to 7

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, Starlink, a subsidiary of the U.S. company SpaceX, added 3 new satellite communications ground stations in Spain, located in Ametlla del Vallès in the Province of Barcelona, Villares de Saz in the Province of Cuenca, and Alcobendas in the Province of Madrid. The new facilities have been put into operation, bringing the total number of Starlink ground stations operating in Spain to 7. This expansion involves data transmission facilities between satellites and the ground communications network, and simultaneously advances the configuration of high-frequency band communication links at some sites.

Spain's existing 7 operational Starlink ground stations are distributed across the provinces of Alicante, Barcelona, Cuenca, Huelva, Madrid, and Toledo. Among them, the sites in Ibi in the Province of Alicante and Lepe in the Province of Huelva use the Ka band, while the remaining 5 sites, located in Ametlla del Vallès, Villares de Saz, Alcobendas, Loeches, and Santa Olalla, have been included in the list for dual Ka and E band configuration.

Starlink has applied to Spain's digital transformation authority to add communication frequency resources for 5 ground stations, involving Villares de Saz, Santa Olalla, Ametlla del Vallès, Alcobendas, and Loeches. The relevant facilities add E band transmission capability on top of the existing Ka band links, involving the configuration of communication links for satellite backhaul data access to the ground network.

Spain's existing ground station network has adjusted some early facilities. The Villarejo de Salvanés station was once in operation and was subsequently dismantled; the site in Gelida in the Province of Barcelona could not be put into use due to licensing issues. Neither is counted among the 7 operational sites announced this time.

The technical specifications of SpaceX's third-generation Starlink satellites include a maximum downlink capacity of 1 Tbps and an uplink capacity of 160 Gbps per satellite, approximately 10 times and 22 times the corresponding specifications of second-generation satellites, respectively. The communication design of the new generation of satellites involves the Ka, E, V, and W bands, and Starlink is expanding the ground communication facilities that support its satellite network.

Statistics released by Spain's National Commission on Markets and Competition on September 30 show that the country's number of satellite internet connections increased from more than 10,000 at the end of 2022 to approximately 100,000 at the end of 2025, accounting for about 0.5% of the country's total fixed broadband connections. Among them, at the end of 2025, about 90% of satellite internet connections had speeds in the 100–300 Mbps range.