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Kathmandu. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms said on Wednesday it has signed a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide its Starlink satellite internet service to its customers.
The announcement comes a day after rival telco Bharti Airtel signed a similar deal, months after Musk and Ambani’s companies clashed over how to allocate satellite spectrum. The potential launch of Starlink, which will provide high-speed internet access to remote locations via low-Earth orbit satellites, has sparked heated debate in India over issues ranging from predatory pricing to spectrum allocation.
But as India, the world’s most populous country, prepares to launch massive satellite broadband services, SpaceX and India’s telecoms appear to be joining hands to help it adopt. According to a statement, the agreement will see Jio provide “Starlink equipment at its retail outlets” and the Indian company “help support customer service deployment and activation.”
“The parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic, to provide reliable broadband services across the country, including in the most rural and remote areas of India,” the statement said.
Jio said the deal was contingent on “SpaceX obtaining its own permission to sell Starlink in India.” Last month, Indian media reports said Starlink’s license application was close to initial regulatory approval. Ambani’s telecom unit is also working separately to provide satellite broadband services. Jio Platforms announced a joint venture with Luxembourg’s SES in 2022 to provide broadband services using a combination of geostationary and medium Earth orbit satellites.
The Jio-SpaceX deal comes after Musk met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last month. Technology entrepreneur Musk’s business interests in India are currently limited to social media platform X. Electric vehicle maker Tesla is preparing to enter the world’s fifth-largest economy. Tesla last month began recruiting in India, advertising jobs for store managers and service technicians for New Delhi and Mumbai. Musk’s company Starlink is also in talks to expand its business in Nepal.
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