Elon Musk’s satellite communication company Starlink is getting closer to launching its services in India, with expected pricing of Rs 3,000 per month for unlimited data and a Rs 33,000 one-time cost for the receiver kit, according to a report by NDTV.
The report comes days after Starlink received a key licence from Ministry of Telecommunications, a major step toward launching its services in the country. Notably, the pricing is similar to that in Bangladesh where the service is already available.
According to DoT sources as cited by NDTV, the satellite-based internet service provider will begin operations in India within 12 months by offering 600 to 700 Gbps, or gigabytes per second, of bandwidth.
With this, Starlink joins Bharti Airtel’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm as one of the three players authorised to offer satellite-based internet services in India.
It currently operates across select Asian countries, including Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
Interestingly, to support the rollout in India, Starlink has also signed agreements with telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to tap into existing infrastructure and ease regulatory navigation.
Despite receiving its operating licence, Starlink must still navigate further regulatory hurdles before it can launch services in India.
Before the spectrum is allocated, the Elon Musk-owned company, must get approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).
