Elon Musk’s Starlink India Launch: Cost, Advantages of Satellite Internet, and Everything You Should Know
Elon Musk’s Starlink India Launch: Cost, Advantages of Satellite Internet, and Everything You Should Know
India will see the debut of Starlink and other satellite internet services. There may be promotional unlimited data plans available for less than Rs. 840 per month. Hardware may be expensive. Technical limitations may restrict the number of subscribers, even though some have regulatory authorization. Reaching underprivileged areas is the goal of satellite internet. The telecom market in India is becoming more competitive.
Other satellite communication companies, including Eutelsat, OneWeb, which is supported by the Bharti Group, Reliance Jio’s joint venture with SES, Globalstar, and Elon Musk’s Starlink, may soon launch their services in India. Although official pricing information has not yet been released, a report has provided insight into what consumers may anticipate paying for a mobile high-speed satellite internet connection.
According to a report by The Economic Times, which cites analyst projections, Musk’s Starlink may launch unlimited data plans in India at promotional prices of less than $10 (about Rs 840) per month as it positions itself to enter the second-largest telecom market in the world.
Starlink price in India (expected)
According to the report, industry experts predict that satellite internet providers will strive for a low entry price point in order to quickly grow their user base, with a medium- to long-term target of up to 10 million subscribers. This will allow them to achieve economies of scale that will offset significant investments in infrastructure and spectrum.
Ashwinder Sethi, a partner at the international TMT consultant Analysys Mason, was cited as saying, “Our approach is to price services affordably—below $10—to promote adoption and distribute fixed costs across a broader customer base.”
Starlink’s hardware may be expensive.
According to the research, users may find hardware expenses prohibitive despite the enticing monthly data plans. Compared to Indian home broadband options, which not only have inexpensive hardware costs but also offer up to 1 Gbps speeds and include OTT apps, Starlink’s hardware kits cost $250 (about Rs 21,300) to $380 (roughly Rs 32,400) worldwide.
According to a recent source, Starlink has gotten a letter of intent from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and is seeking final certification from India’s space regulator, while Eutelsat, OneWeb, and Jio-SES have obtained regulatory permits.
Benefits and limitations of satellite internet in India
Because satellite internet doesn’t rely on physical infrastructure like fiber cables or cell towers, it can reach underserved, rural, or distant areas where standard broadband services are either too expensive or unavailable.
Notwithstanding the aggressive pricing plan, technical limitations may limit Starlink’s potential. IIFL Research estimates that 4 million users worldwide are served by Starlink’s present 7,000-unit satellite capacity. Only over 1.5 million consumers in India might be served by Starlink by FY2030, even with an increased fleet of 18,000 satellites.
The IIFL analysis also noted that only 700–800 satellites would ever cover India at any given moment due to its anticipated 0.7%–0.8% geographical share of global satellite coverage. This is insignificant compared to India’s current terrestrial infrastructure, which consists of 3 million base transceiver stations (BTS) and more than 800,000 telecom towers.
About The Author:
Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.
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