Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced a partnership with SpaceX, the aerospace company helmed by billionaire Elon Musk, to introduce Starlink satellite Internet services in India.

The alliance is likely to change the contours of the Indian broadband market, currently dominated by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio that has over 14 million wired subscribers.

The timing of the announcement, coinciding with India-US discussions on a broader trade deal, is significant as it comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in Washington where they discussed issues ranging from space and mobility to technology and innovation.

SpaceX has been trying to establish its presence in the subcontinent.

Starlink’s low-earth orbit satellite Internet has rolled out services in Bhutan and is expected to do so in Bangladesh soon. The imminent entry of SpaceX into India, however, is its most significant step forward and is likely to intensify the fight for market share with Reliance Jio.

The deal will allow the US satellite Internet giant to utilise Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Airtel’s retail store network to distribute its devices across the country. In a statement, the Indian telecom major said SpaceX would explore offering Starlink services via Airtel to business customers and provide opportunities to connect communities, schools and health centres, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India.

The agreement, however, is subject to SpaceX “receiving its own authorisations” to roll out the operations, Airtel said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

“Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity,” said Gopal Vittal, managing director and vice-chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Starlink is a satellite internet service provider that seeks to offer global mobile broadband and make streaming, video calls, online gaming and remote working possible in even the most isolated locations.

“This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business and community has reliable Internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers — wherever they live and work,” Vittal said in the statement.

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said the team at Airtel played a pivotal role in India’s telecom story and SpaceX working with them to complement its direct offering made great sense for the business.

Bloomberg reported that the partnership is a coup for the Sunil Bharti Mittal-owned Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest wireless carrier, and recasts the competitive landscape in India. It’s also a potential setback for sector leader Reliance Jio as it risks losing some of its subscribers to the Bharti-Starlink combine at a time data use is rapidly surging in India.

Mittal is also an investor in Eutelsat OneWeb, a rival of Starlink, which too is vying for a piece of India’s satellite broadband pie.

Recently, Starlink and Reliance Jio had a public spat over the process of granting spectrum for satellite services. While Reliance and Vodafone-India had called for an auction, the Indian establishment sided with the views of Musk who wanted it to be allocated administratively in line with global trends.

After communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined the government’s decision of allocating satellite spectrum at a pre-decided price, Musk reacted with a one-word response — “Promising” — to a post on X discussing the announcement.

Several analysts had observed that the auction route, which required large investments, was proposed to deter foreign rivals by jacking up entry costs.

The concerns in the Jio camp, which spent $19 billion in airwave auctions, are valid, an analyst said, as the company risks losing broadband customers to Starlink and potentially even data and voice clients later with the advancement of satellite technology.

Amid questions on whether Starlink’s entry would lead to a reduction in broadband rates, an analyst said it would depend on regulations and how aggressively the company chose to compete with established players.

SP Kochhar, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said that while India is open to new players, they must align with the nation’s policies and objectives.