New Delhi:
Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Wednesday posted a welcome message for Elon Musk’s Starlink on social media and then removed it after about an hour.
In a post on X, Mr. Vaishnav, who is also the Railway Minister, wrote, “Starlink, Welcome to India! Remote Area will be useful for railway projects.”
Airtel and Jio, who belongs to India’s largest telecom operator and internet service providers, have signed deals with Starlink to offer their satellite-based broadband internet services, but the agreement is being received from the Center to operate Sri Musk’s company in the country.
On Tuesday, Airtel announced that it had signed an agreement with SpaceX of Mr. Musk to bring Starlink services to India, saying that it would provide an opportunity to connect communities, schools, health centers and other institutions in India’s most remote rural corners.
Bharti Airtel Limited Gopal Vital said, “Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is an important milestone and further reflects our commitment to the next generation satellite connectivity.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and president of Bharti Enterprises, said, “Like 4G, 5G and 6G in future, now our mixture will have another technology, ie Sat-G.”
Reliance Group’s Digital Services Company, Jio Platform Limited announced its deal with Starlink on Wednesday.
Reliance Jio Group CEO Matthew Oman said, “Our cooperation with STACEX strengthens our commitment to bring Starlink to India and takes a transformative step towards a spontaneous broadband connectivity for all.”
He said, “By integrating Starlink into Jio’s broadband ecosystem, we are expanding our access and increasing the reliability and reach of high-speed broadband in this AI-operated era, empowering communities and businesses across the country,” he said.
Space X President and Chief Operating Officer Gwin Shotwell said the company is keen to move beyond the Government of India.
Ms. Shotwell said, “We appreciate Jio’s commitment to pursue India’s connectivity. We are eager to work with Jio and get more people, organizations and businesses to provide access to high-speed internet services of Starlink to more people, organizations and businesses.”
Starlink was trying to enter the Indian market since 2022 and both Airtel and Jio had initially opposed its entry.
In 2024, at India Mobile Congress, Sunil Mittal said that satellite companies – like traditional telecom companies – require to buy spectrum and pay license fee, Jio also took a similar stand, motivated Elon Musk to comment to comment that the auction – the demand for an approach was “Archarics”. He also wondered if there was approval for the operation of Starlink in India, “there was a lot of trouble”.
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