When will satellite internet services launch in India? Mukesh Ambani, Elon Musk, Sunil Mittal set to…; price will be…

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel, and Elon Musk-led Starlink have acquired the necessary licenses for operating satellite communication (satcom) and satellite internet services in India,

Starlink India: Elon Musk-led Satcom giant Starlink, as well as domestic telecom majors, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, have acquired the necessary licenses for operating satellite communication services in India, which is expected to transform the country’s digital landscape by providing internet and voice connectivity in remote regions where conventional telecom network struggle to reach.

Who will operate satcom services in India?

According to media reports, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Reliance Jio-SES JV, and Bharti Airtel’s Eutelsat OneWeb, have acquired the necessary permits for operating satellite internet services in India even as the Indian government is finalizing terms of spectrum allocation, upon which there is a lack of consensus among service providers.

Why the delay in spectrum allocation?

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had given its recommendations on spectrum allocation in May this year, and it usually takes about 2-3 months for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to submit its own after TRAI does, The Economic Times reported, quoted a senior executive of a major satcom firm.

As per the satcom executive, DoT recommendations are submitted to the (Digital Communications Commission) DCC for review, and after approval, these are examined by Union Cabinet. Following this process, DoT is tasked with charting the allocation rules, and currently its is expected that the allocation process will start by October this year, he noted.

When will satellite internet launch in India?

According to officials, it will likely take about a month for satcom providers to launch commercial services after spectrum allocation, which puts launch timeline somewhere around the end of November or early December. “We are looking at a November-end or December timeframe for the launch of commercial service,” the ET report quoted an executive as saying.

the first executive said. On Wednesday, US-based Starlink became the third satcom operator to get approval from space regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to launch commercial satcom services in the country after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio-SES JV. Starlink received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit last month.

How much will satellite internet cost in India?

While the price of satellite internet have not been formally announced, various reports provide insights into how much Elon Musk’s Starlink will cost in India. According to a former top official at Starlink, the service could cost around Rs 1,58,000 for the first year, which will  decreased to Rs 1,15,000 in the second year, including 30 percent tax.

The difference in the prices between the first and second year is due to the fact that the customer needs to make a one-time purchase of the device needed to use the Starlink service, the first time around, The device costs Rs 37,400, according to reports. Additionally, users must pay an extra Rs 7,425 per month as service fee.