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Musk's Starlink can provide only 20 lakh connections across India, won't affect telecom services: Govt
The satcom services provided by Starlink, which promise high-speed internet via low Earth orbit satellites, will likely target rural and remote areas.
Billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, which provides satellite communication services, will be able to give only 20 lakh connections across India, union minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Monday.
This thus reduces the threat to other telecom players, including state-run BSNL.
“Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services,” the Minister of State (MoS) for Telecom said.
The satellite communication services provided by Starlink, which promise high-speed internet via low Earth orbit satellites, will likely target rural and remote areas.
MoS Pemmasani said that the cost for the satcom services will be too high, adding that customers might have to pay up to ₹3000 per month.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a review meeting of BSNL, whose 49 network rollout has been completed. The MoS said that the state-run provider is focusing on market first, adding that there were no tariff hikes planned.
Starlink to introduce Satcom services after IN-SPACe nod
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) earlier this month gave regulatory clearance to Starlink to launch satellite-based internet services in India.
The government had granted the company a licence in early June to provide Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) services, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) Category-A services.
Starlink is the third company, after OneWeb and Jio, to receive approval from the Department of Telecommunications for satcom services.
Both Airtel and Jio recently partnered with Starlink to launch its high-speed satellite internet services in India. The Elon Musk-owned company will utilise the dealer networks of both these operators to distribute its services in the market.
While Starlink had been waiting since 2022 for licences to commence commercial operations in India, delays due to reasons including national security concerns were preventing its launch.
