Elon Musk praises productive talks with Telecom Minister, Says starlink is set to transform connectivity in India

Elon Musk reaffirms Starlink’s commitment to India as company executives meet Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to discuss satellite connectivity, licensing progress, pricing expectations, and plans to boost rural digital access across the country.

Elon Musk has confirmed SpaceX’s plans to offer Starlink satellite internet services in India, as the company is reportedly accelerating its expansion plans in the country. In a follow-up tweet, the billionaire CEO also said that Starlink is “looking forward to serving India”, after Indian Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced a meeting with top executives from SpaceX and Starlink.

Scindia met with Musk, Starlink CTO JamatIyer, and India CEO Tarun katiyar on Thursday in New Delhi. The meeting comes as the country explores ways to extend internet connectivity to remote locations using satellite technology.

Last month, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the government is considering ways to support satellite-based internet for last-mile connectivity and noted that it is well-suited to “target rural areas, hill states, islands, border areas, which are not easy to reach”. Speaking about the Satlink meeting with Scindia on X, Musk wrote: “Starlink and SpaceX are looking forward to serving India”.

India and Starlink’s recent developments

Starlink’s efforts to enter the Indian market have been under close watch for months. After launching services in 13 countries, Starlink is gearing up for commercial operations in India. The company is waiting on final approvals from the Department of Telecom (DoT), and the government is still finalizing import regulations for satellite internet terminals.

In addition, Starlink has already secured a licence to provide Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS), VSAT services, and Category-A ISP services in India.

This has happened after Starlink was among 49 companies to receive final approval last month from the Department of Telecom (DoT). The government gave conditional approval on 21 February for satellite broadband licenses to Starlink and some other companies. A few weeks back, Tarun katiyar, Starlink India’s CEO, had said that the company was “in touch with officials on satellite-based connectivity, particularly the regulatory issues around this, keeping in mind PM Narendra Modi’s vision for digital India”.

Telcos and Starlink

Incumbent telcos like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and others, are also reportedly eyeing space partnerships to boost their service offerings. For instance, in September 2022, Bharti Airtel signed a deal with OneWeb to provide connectivity in India. Reliance Jio has also been on a lookout for satellite partnerships.

Last week, Tarun katiyar said that the Starlink service’s monthly tariff has been fixed at Rs 8,600 and hardware has been priced at Rs 34,000. In response to questions, the company said, “The prices were briefly listed due to a technical glitch on the Starlink India website and have been removed.”

Starlink is also waiting on the final approvals from Indian authorities for the launch of its operations in the country. In January this year, the US-based company asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for a six-month extension for its ISP license application. In a letter sent to TRAI, the Starlink India Chief (Tarun Katiyar) stated that the “country-specific operations are in the advanced stages of commercial launch planning” in India.

Reportedly, Starlink services will be priced lower than what has now been listed on the Starlink India website. These tariffs may be comparable to India’s big telcos that serve their rural and semi-urban subscribers at the lowest rates.