Key Points
Airtel and Jio partner with SpaceX for Starlink internet services
Satellite connectivity targets remote Indian regions
Mittal sees new global connectivity era
Telecom giants explore innovative satellite infrastructure
India's leading telecom giants, Airtel and Jio Platforms, have partnered with SpaceX to bring Starlink Internet services to the country.
"Starlink, welcome to India! Will be useful for remote area railway projects," the Union Minister posted on X social media platform.
A day after Airtel's announcement about partnering with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet service to India, Jio Platforms on Wednesday announced a similar pact with the US-based company.
Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel's retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India.
Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX's ability to utilise and benefit from Airtel's ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India, said the company.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said that a new era of seamless global connectivity beckons for customers. Mittal said that soon, customers will be able to carry their mobiles to the remotest part of the world, with them in the skies and blue oceans.
In his opening remark at the recently concluded 'Mobile World Congress 2025' in Barcelona, Mittal made a call to both the telecom and satellite players to work together, combine their strengths, and complete the mission of connecting the unconnected, covering the oceans and the skies as well as difficult-to-reach areas.
"I am glad that this is being followed through with active announcements of partnerships between satellite companies and telecom operators," he said in a statement.
For the telecom industry, the addition of satellite technology should be no different from bringing new technologies to its customers.
"Just like 4G, 5G, and 6G in the future, we will now have one more technology in our mix, i.e. SAT-G," said Mittal.
