Elon Musk Moves Closer to Bringing Starlink to India

What Happened?

This week two of India’s largest telecommunications companies, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, announced support for a partnership with Starlink to bring satellite-based internet service to most of India. 

Reliance Jio issued a public statement. It said the new deal with Starlink would allow them “to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including in the most remote and rural regions.”

Bharti Airtel posted on X that if approved by the government the new deal would “enable Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, even in the most rural parts of India.” 

Why it Matters

Starlink, and Elon Musk in particular, has tried to gain access to the market in India for nearly a decade. India is now the world’s most populous country having overtaken China. 

As the country has become modernized, the number of people using the internet in India has grown steadily, nearing one billion in 2024. Service to such a large number of users represents an enormous market share. 

The leading telecom companies in India have previously opposed any deals with Starlink, which raises the question, why did they change their minds now? Mr. Musk’s proximity to President Trump is a likely reason.

Government officials and industry leaders in India probably see business deals with Mr. Musk as a pathway towards future political deals with the Trump Administration. 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has publicly said he seeks to transform India into a developed nation by 2047. While there is no universal agreement on the definition of a developed country, most agree to qualify a nation must have an advanced economy, high standards of living, and modern information infrastructure. 

The potential deal to bring Starlink to India could help strengthen the information infrastructure component, which is also vital for the other two factors.

Exactly what Starlink would do in India remains unclear. Neither of India’s major telecoms have said whether Starlink would enter the market as a full competitor or as a mere service provider for them. 

India’s current leaders seem to recognize that to achieve Mr. Modi’s modernization goals, external partnerships like the proposed deal with Starlink will be necessary.

India presents both a challenge and an opportunity for internet and mobile phone providers. Much of the population live in remote areas where landlines are rare. Satellite service would be much cheaper and faster to provide than trying to wire potentially thousands of miles of countryside.

How it Affects You

There has always been a nexus between international business interests and national politics.

If India’s government approves the Starlink deal, that nexus would grow by combining business with international politics in India on a new and much larger scale.