Musk, Mittal, Ab Mukesh: Jio also reveals the Starlink Deal

New Delhi: Airtel, a day later, to marketing the Starlink Satellite Internet services of Elon Musk in India and complement its network coverage, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio also joined Bandwagan, which came out with a twin deal, making it a strong entry ecosystem for the American satellite company.
But Starlink will take some time to offer services as the company wait for a license, followed by the construction of the ground infrastructure required for spectrum and services, which is much expensive than the current telecom operators.

From challenger to colleague

Sources said that coordination between domestic telecom companies and Starlinks may come after a fog with the Indian and the US government. Washington has a partnership less than a month after meeting Musk.

‘Telcos’ Starlink Deal Dark Spot Plug can be plugged’

Within a few hours, two deals have held a discussion around the Voda idea, which is announcing a similar arrangement with SpaceX.
After years of waiting, a global mobile personal communication by the Satellite (GMPCS) service license has been pending with the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Home Affairs. “Once it becomes GMPCS, Starlink will need to receive some other approval and a single before the space department starts taking the order formally and works towards launching operations. The source said that it also needs to set up a landing station in India, and the government needs to assure the non-conversion of data of Indians during its operation and follow the ‘requests’ from law enforcement agencies, “the source said.

Next in Voda thought line?

Starlink has long been pushing the bureaucracy for its SATCom license, but has so far failed, security installations raised some red flags and demanded clarification.
Officers are definitely growing rapidly about development. A senior government official said being a satellite communication mixture with the current terrestrial networks of Airtel and Jio would mean that in rural India, difficult areas and even in crowded metro, “plug the dark spots effectively”. “Even the Universal Service Liability Fund, made through a levy on telecom players, is not able to shut down this difference and we are hoping that such an agreement will help achieve 100% coverage across the country.”
The official further said: “The important thing is that a new operator and a new communication medium – satellite enters India in this case, gives more options to the consumer and makes new competition in the market. Remember, we have progressed for data -LED conversation through WhatsApp and Facitime, from landline to mobile phones, we have progressed for conversation. Soon, it will be enabled by new satellites. Will also look at investments and will also help in maturing the ecosystem.
However, there are still technical challenges. “Most of the regular mobile phones being used by the public do not have a provision to obtain satellite connectivity. Therefore, integration on regular calls will not be comfortable because the handover between terrestrial and satellite networks will not be automatically available until telecommunications companies and phone manufacturers work on solutions. So far, a customer – on some selected expensive equipment – is manually option to choose satellite communication. ,
Regarding home broadband, satellite services will be much expensive than current fiber-based solutions, which are priced below the tenth of SATCOM. In addition, the speed through home fibers is much higher than that of a Satcom provider. “Initially the biggest use will be in enterprise areas such as mining, oil rigs, airlines and shipping. In addition, SATCOM will help provide internet connectivity in difficult areas such as forests, wildlife safari and rural areas, where mobile services have not been effectively distracted, ”said an official.
Bharti Group chief Sunil Mittal said that terrestrial operators are required to join the army along with Saatcom players. “In my initial comment in recently concluded Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, ​​I made both telecom and satellite players together, combining their strengths and connecting the dislike, fulfilling the missions, covering the oceans and the sky, as well as the difficult-cautious areas. I am glad that it is being followed with active announcements of partnership between satellite companies and telecom operators … Soon customers will be able to take their mobiles in the world’s farthest part, with them in the sky and blue oceans. ,
Welcoming Starlink in India, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “This remote area will be useful for railway projects.”