Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s Starlink, that provides satellite Internet access , will explore a collaboration with Indian telecom companies to expand broadband services in the country’s rural areas. In early November, the company registered a fully owned subsidiary in India called Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited.
Starlink India’s country director Sanjay Bhargava said that discussions with broadband service providers will start once the twelve districts for a satellite internet pilot are finalized by NITI Aayog, the government’s public policy think tank.
Bhargava said, “I am hoping that we will get a time-bound 100 percent broadband plan that can serve as a model for other districts, but the devil is in the details, and there may be many good reasons why one or more broadband providers do not want to collaborate, though to me that seems unlikely.”
Starlink claims to have received over 5,000 pre-orders from India. The company will charge a deposit of $99 and says it will deliver data speeds in the range of 50-150 megabits per second in the beta stage.
