Starlink | Enter India Today World News

Representative image
| Photo Credit: Reuters

On March 6, an account on the social media platform X claimed that Reliance Jio, Airtel, and VI wanted “fair competition” as the Indian government mulled over the possibility of granting Starlink a license. In response to the post, the U.S. President’s advisor and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk commented, “Fair competition would be much appreciated.” Netizens enjoyed the interaction, with many joking about Reliance Industries potentially finding its ‘fair market’ match in Tesla CEO Musk.

Days later, however, Airtel announced that it had inked a deal to bring Starlink to India. Hot on its heels was Jio Platforms with the same announcement.

India’s two major telecom companies announced their Starlink partnerships after a White House meeting last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister shared that he had met Mr. Musk and discussed a range of subjects with him, including space, mobility, technology, and innovation.

Weeks later, Airtel and Jio hailed their partnerships with Starlink and its potential for India’s consumers.

“This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell Starlink in India,” noted Airtel in a statement on March 11. The two would also explore offering Starlink products in Airtel’s retail stores and Starlink service via Airtel to business customers.

A day later, Jio Platforms released its own statement, with similar language. It hailed the partnership between the “world’s largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic” and Starlink, but noted that the agreement was subject to Starlink obtaining authorisation.

Airtel further acknowledged its existing alliance with Eutelsat OneWeb, which also provides satellite connectivity. Eutelsat OneWeb noted on its website that it had “more than 630 satellites along 12 carefully synchronised orbital planes 1,200 km above, in low Earth orbit (LEO).”

Jio, during the India Mobile Congress in 2023, introduced its own JioSpaceFiber satellite Internet service. In a press release, Jio shared that it was “partnering with SES to access the world’s latest in medium earth orbit satellite technology.” SES has 70 satellites operating in two different orbits and broadcasts to over 1 billion TV viewers worldwide.

Meanwhile, Starlink noted on its website that it is a constellation of “thousands of satellites” that orbit Earth at about 550 km.

Keep in mind, however, that the winner is not necessarily the company with the largest number of satellites. The satellite’s assigned location — in low, medium, or high Earth orbit — greatly affects its build, its orbital speed, the area it can cover by itself, and the kind of service it provides to users. For example, a Starlink satellite system in low Earth orbit that enables users to watch movies while camping will drastically differ from a satellite or a satellite system that enables one country’s military to monitor an enemy region.

As of March 15, the Starlink availability map still marked service in India as “pending regulatory approval”. India’s only neighbour that currently enjoys official access to Starlink is Bhutan. Meanwhile, some Bangladeshi companies have entered into agreements with Starlink, and service-related discussions are taking place, reported local news outlets.

Past controversies

Starlink has been trying for years to enter the Indian market, but faced hurdles. In early 2022, Starlink emailed customers to promise refunds for pre-orders after the government said it was not licensed to operate in the country, reported TechCrunch.

In December 2024, satellite Internet equipment with Starlink branding was seized from Manipur’s Imphal East and linked to militant activity. Mr. Musk said this was false and that satellite beams were turned off over India.

While the Indian government needs to formally bless Starlink’s latest attempt to land in the country, the high-profile agreements signed with Airtel and Jio after Mr. Modi’s U.S. visit signal a softening stance in Delhi.