Elon Musk's Starlink to explore telecommunications in India

Elon Musk's SpaceX's satellite broadband arm Starlink is planning to explore the Indian telecom sector to expand broadband services in India, with a primary focus on rural areas. Director of Starlink India, Sanjay Bhargava, told the media that discussion with broadband service providers would begin once the 12 Phase-1 aspirational districts are identified by the Niti Aayog, and Starlink can see the interest of various players and universal service obligation fund (USOF). He added that the company is hoping for a 100% broadband plan that can serve as a model for other districts, but there may be some reasons why one or more broadband service providers do not want to collaborate, though it seems unlikely to the company. According to Starlink, it has received 5,000 pre-orders from India. The company is charging Rs 7,350 per customer as a deposit and claims to deliver data speeds ranging between 50-150 megabits per second (Mbps). Bhargava said that the company would focus on ten rural Lok Sabha constituencies to provide internet speed for 80% of the Starlink terminals shipped to India. He added that the company could roll out fast if the licensing is approved, and the Starlinks could move to other remote locations. He said that the company wants to collaborate with all and have others apart from the company providing satellite broadband so that the satellite and the terrestrial can operate together and can provide 100% broadband connection, especially in rural areas. As per a few reports of Starlink planning to manufacture terminals to provide satellite broadband services in India, Bhargava said that the company is not thinking much about manufacturing terminals locally. Image Source