Two of India’s biggest telecom providers, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, separately inked deals with Elon Musk’s Starlink last month to provide satellite-based internet services there. The pacts open up vast opportunities for Starlink and its parent company, SpaceX, in the multi-billion-dollar Indian satellite communication services market. As of early 2025, approximately 654 million people have yet to gain internet access, according to DataReportal.
Starlink offers high-speed internet and data services via a constellation of 5,600 low-Earth-orbit satellites. Internationally, Starlink provides 2.7 million customers with internet services at speeds ranging from 50 to 200 Mbps.
Tying up with Starlink gives a significant leg up in the Indian telecom market to billionaires Sunil Bharti Mittal, owner of Bharti Airtel, and Mukesh Ambani, proprietor of Reliance Jio. The country’s third biggest telecom player, Vodafone Idea, will have to rework its strategy, although there is talk of it signing with Starlink as well. State-run BSNL is reported to have rejected a deal.
SpaceX and Starlink have been looking to enter the Indian market since 2019. Musk’s role in the Trump administration and his private meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last month reportedly helped pave the way.
Looking ahead, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel view Starlink as a collaborator to complement their traditional fiber-based data and telecom services in remote and uncovered areas of India. As per their announcements, both companies will sell Starlink equipment and services through their vast networks of stores. Approvals from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Indian Space Promotion and Authorization Centre for the Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel deals are yet to come. Data security and geopolitical concerns have been flagged by opposition political parties, citing Starlink’s threat to cut services to Ukraine in the midst of its war with Russia. But policy analysts expect a smooth ride with regulators, given the stature of the two top telecom services providers.
