<p>Bengaluru: Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms, on Tuesday, announced an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services in India. The deal is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink in India.</p>.<p>This comes just a day after telecom rival Bharti Airtel’s very similar agreement with SpaceX. The developments show that Airtel and Reliance Jio, who have long opposed Starlink’s entry into India, now find sense in partnering with SpaceX rather than competing against it. The pending approvals for SpaceX now seem like a formality.</p>.<p>“The parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world's largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic and Starlink’s position as the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite constellation operator to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including the most rural and remote regions of India,” Jio said in a statement.</p>.SIA-India welcomes SpaceX's partnerships with Airtel, Jio.<p>Jio will offer Starlink equipment in its retail outlets and will establish a mechanism to support customer service installation and activation. The two companies Jio are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to further enhance India’s digital ecosystem.</p>.<p>Sectoral experts said that the two agreements with SpaceX (Airtel and Jio) can bring competitive pressure on pricing in the telecom sector, whilst increasing the market growth potential in India's satellite and broadband market, positioning India as a key player in global satellite internet adoption.</p>.<p>“The agreements between Airtel and Jio, and SpaceX offer a great opportunity to service India's dense rural populations with affordable access to internet services. This can transform these areas' access to education, healthcare and other economic opportunities that connectivity can bring,” said Ross Maxwell, Global Strategy Operations Lead at VT Markets.</p>.<p>The developments will also help deepen US-India relations including in the tech sector, strategically moving them ahead of China who are developing their own satellite constellations, and countering Chinese tech dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, Maxwell said, adding that could also pave the way for further US investment into India’s telecom sector.</p>.<p>“The partnership between Jio and Starlink represents a pivotal move toward enhancing digital connectivity in India and will potentially pay off in the long term. Overall, Reliance Industries presents a better earnings momentum going ahead and the potential listing of the Jio telecom unit is also a major positive factor supporting the company,” said Vishnu Kant Upadhyay, AVP – Research & Advisory, Master Capital Services.</p>.<p>Airtel and Jio’s tie-up with SpaceX comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Elon Musk in Washington where they discussed issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms, on Tuesday, announced an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services in India. The deal is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink in India.</p>.<p>This comes just a day after telecom rival Bharti Airtel’s very similar agreement with SpaceX. The developments show that Airtel and Reliance Jio, who have long opposed Starlink’s entry into India, now find sense in partnering with SpaceX rather than competing against it. The pending approvals for SpaceX now seem like a formality.</p>.<p>“The parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world's largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic and Starlink’s position as the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite constellation operator to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including the most rural and remote regions of India,” Jio said in a statement.</p>.SIA-India welcomes SpaceX's partnerships with Airtel, Jio.<p>Jio will offer Starlink equipment in its retail outlets and will establish a mechanism to support customer service installation and activation. The two companies Jio are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to further enhance India’s digital ecosystem.</p>.<p>Sectoral experts said that the two agreements with SpaceX (Airtel and Jio) can bring competitive pressure on pricing in the telecom sector, whilst increasing the market growth potential in India's satellite and broadband market, positioning India as a key player in global satellite internet adoption.</p>.<p>“The agreements between Airtel and Jio, and SpaceX offer a great opportunity to service India's dense rural populations with affordable access to internet services. This can transform these areas' access to education, healthcare and other economic opportunities that connectivity can bring,” said Ross Maxwell, Global Strategy Operations Lead at VT Markets.</p>.<p>The developments will also help deepen US-India relations including in the tech sector, strategically moving them ahead of China who are developing their own satellite constellations, and countering Chinese tech dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, Maxwell said, adding that could also pave the way for further US investment into India’s telecom sector.</p>.<p>“The partnership between Jio and Starlink represents a pivotal move toward enhancing digital connectivity in India and will potentially pay off in the long term. Overall, Reliance Industries presents a better earnings momentum going ahead and the potential listing of the Jio telecom unit is also a major positive factor supporting the company,” said Vishnu Kant Upadhyay, AVP – Research & Advisory, Master Capital Services.</p>.<p>Airtel and Jio’s tie-up with SpaceX comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Elon Musk in Washington where they discussed issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.</p>