Elon Musk’s Starlink India Launch : Know Plans and Availability

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6 months ago

Starlink : India Launch

Elon Musk’s very own satellite internet company Starlink is now preparing to launch its services in India, and new details suggest the rollout might happen within an year. The company has already received a Letter of Intent from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), clearing a major roadblock in the approval process. Here is everything we must know about it.

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According to various sources, Starlink will initially offer internet bandwidth between 600Gbps and 700Gbps. This early phase of launch is expected to support approximately 30k to 50k users in some selected urban locations. Over the next couple of years, the company aims to expand its bandwidth to 3 Tbps by 2027, which can allow it to serve many more users across the country, once all approvals are in place.

While final pricing is yet to be confirmed, a report suggests that Starlink’s monthly plans in India could start as low as $10 — roughly Rs 850. The company is also expected to offer unlimited data under its early promotional plans.

Believe it or not, Reliance Jio will be the main competitor for Starlink, which its already existing massive user base.

Even though satellite internet services are expected to be more expensive to operate in India due to regulatory costs, Starlink is said to be planning some more competitive and aggressive pricing to balance the high initial investment.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reportedly suggested an additional Rs 500 charge per urban user per month. It has also proposed a 4 per cent revenue charge along with an 8 per cent licensing fee, and a minimum spectrum block charge of Rs 3,500 annually. These recommendations are still awaiting approval from the government.

Despite the expected costs, Starlink may still go ahead with low pricing to cover its expenses through scale. The company hopes to reach up to 10 million users in India in the long run, which would help offset the high spectrum and infrastructure costs.

For those who are not known to it, Starlink is a satellite-based internet service developed by Elon Musk’s space company, SpaceX. It uses a network of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet in areas where traditional broadband services are either poor or unavailable.

In some countries like the US, Starlink currently charges about $80 (nearly Rs 6,800) per month for its residential plans, along with a one-time cost of $349 (around Rs 29,700) for the hardware kit. There are also travel-friendly Roam plans starting at $50 (roughly Rs 4,200), with a separate compact kit for mobile use. If the leaked pricing details for India are accurate.

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Starlink plans, pricing in India, speed and more

If we believe the reports, Starlink can likely launch unlimited data based plans in India at promotional prices of under $10 per month, which is roughly Rs 840. This is likely an effort to attract a large number of users in the early stages. TRAI has proposed a Rs 500 monthly charge for users in urban areas, a 4 percent fee on adjusted gross revenue, and a minimum yearly fee of Rs 3,500 per MHz for satellite spectrum. Starlink will also have to pay an 8 percent license fee to offer services commercially in India.

While hardware pricing in India hasn’t been come out till now, in the US, the standard Starlink kit costs $349 (about Rs 30,000), and the compact Starlink Mini is priced at $599 (around Rs 43,000). Internet speeds in India are expected to range from 25 Mbps to 220 Mbps, depending on location and satellite coverage.

When will Starlink launch in India?

Although Starlink has received a Letter of Intent from the DoT, the company still needs final approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center. Once that’s in place, Starlink is expected to launch its services sometime later this year or early next year.

In the first phase of the operations, beaming capacity will cover somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 customers across India. The company plans to beam 3 terabytes per second to its India users by 2027, the report further said. This would, however, require regulatory approvals. So far, sites for around three earth stations have been identified.

Starlink gets approvals for satellite internet services in India

It has received government approval to operate satellite internet services in India, with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issuing a letter of intent (LoI) after the company agreed to comply with licensing conditions critical to national security, government sources told Moneycontrol.

“Yes, Starlink has been issued LoI by the Dot for GMPCS, VSAT and ISP licenses in India…the LoI came after it gave an undertaking to meet license conditions and security protocols under the new revised security guidelines…the final license will be given once Starlink will be able to fulfil all license conditions,” a government source said.

With the LoI, it will now be able to demo its services in a manner similar to OneWeb, which has been providing its offerings to the defense sector under a pilot program. “The In-SPACe authorisation will also be given soon,” the source added.