Airtel partners with Elon Musk's SpaceX to provide Starlink's high-speed internet in India

Bengaluru: Homegrown telecom giant Bharti Airtel said, on Tuesday, that it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This is the first agreement by SpaceX to be signed in India, which is subject to it being authorised by the Modi government to sell Starlink.

As part of the agreement, Airtel and SpaceX will explore future ‘collaborative opportunities’ on the deployment of the high-speed satellite communication and internet service in India.

In a statement, the the country’s second biggest telecom operator (after Reliance Jio) said that Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, and customers and communities in most rural parts of India.

“Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity,” said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Bharti Airtel Ltd.

“This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers – wherever they live and work,” Vittal said.

A highly placed source told DH that once Starlink gets approvals, there will be further discussions on deepening the collaboration between the two companies, and for Airtel to market Starlink in India. “We are confident that the regulatory and other approvals will be granted soon,” the person said.

“Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilize and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India,” the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Elon Musk in Washington where they discussed issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.

Starlink, which has long wanted to launch in India, has clashed recently with Reliance Jio over how the country should grant spectrum for satellite services.

Reliance had urged an auction but the Indian government sided with Musk, who wanted it to be allocated administratively, in line with global trends.

Airtel has a similar distribution agreement with global satellite group Eutelsat, where Bharti Airtel owns a stake. Eutelsat's OneWeb and Reliance Jio have already won approvals to launch commercial satellite broadband services in India.