India’s leading telecom providers, Airtel and Jio Platforms Ltd have signed a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services to the country. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for bringing satellite internet in India and the entry of Starlink services to India. First, Airtel announced the partnership and then Jio also stepped in to make its collaboration official. However, SpaceX is yet to obtain necessary regulatory approvals from the Indian government before commencing its broadband internet services via respective telecom providers. Know how Starlink on Airtel will differ from Jio’s SpaceX collaboration.
Starlink on Airtel vs Jio Platforms Ltd
Airtel and Jio Platforms Ltd have announced plans to bring satellite internet services to India by partnering with SpaceX. This partnership will introduce Starlink’s broadband services, providing high-speed internet across the nation. While, both the telecom operators have announced the collaboration, SpaceX is yet to get due approval from the Indian government to start its services in the country.
On the contrary, Airtel also has a stake in OneWeb, which is another LEO satellite internet provider. But with Starlink’s internet service, the company claims to provide Starlink products via Airtel’s retail stores and installation support with its ground network infrastructure. These services will be offered to enterprises, businesses, schools, healthcare sector and government institutions. Airtel also focuses on providing satellite internet services to rural areas.
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On the other hand, Jio is also bringing LEO satellite internet for the first time in India via Starlink. The company also claims to distribute Starlink equipment, provide installation support, while also supporting JioAirFiber and JioFiber for high-speed internet in rural areas. Therefore, Jio aims to provide LEO satellite internet directly to consumers as well as businesses. The company will enhance its ground-based internet infrastructure to support Starlink’s broadband services.
While this collaboration sounds like a big step forward for India in improving its internet infrastructure, pricing and affordability would be one of the major concerns, and if it would match India’s average broadband cost for users to consider adopting advanced internet technologies.
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