World’s richest man, Elon Musk’s is bringing satellite internet to India. And to do so, his company SpaceX Starlink has joined hands with two Indian telecom companies – Reliance Industries’ Jio and Bharti Airtel - which have been rivals for decades.
With Jio and Airtel teaming up with SpaceX Starlink, this means they will soon be able to beam high-speed internet across the country, using Starling satellites. Even the most remote villages could get 200 Mbps speeds, which could go up to 1 Gbps. All of this with no cables, no dead zones, just pure, space-powered connectivity.
Announcing the tie-up on March 12, Jio said, “Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) announced an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services to its customers in India. This agreement, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell Starlink in India, enables Jio and SpaceX to explore how Starlink can extend Jio’s offerings and how Jio can complement SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.”
The company added, “The parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world's largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic and Starlink’s position as the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite constellation operator to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including the most rural and remote regions of India.” Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure.
On March 11, Bharti Airtel announced a similar deal. It’s statement read, “: Airtel announced today an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell Starlink in India.”
The company also said, “It (the agreement) enables Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.”
