New Delhi:
India's internet and telecom sector is likely to get a new entrant – Elon Musk's Starlink – a game-changer for internet users in the world's most populous country. Elon Musk, besides national carrier BSNL, will take on giants like Mukesh Ambani's Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel to provide ultra-fast connectivity to Indian users.
Whether it can match Jio and Airtel in terms of prices remains to be seen. India currently has the lowest prices in the world for broadband and WiFi internet. Elon Musk, currently the richest person in the world, may want to compete aggressively in the world's most vibrant internet data market.
Starlink, which provides wireless internet services using satellite constellations in near-Earth orbit, is currently seeking the required security clearances for a license to provide satellite broadband services in India and is expected to be granted a license if it meets authorities' conditions, the telecom minister said today.
Starlink has wanted to enter India for years and its plans got a big boost last month when New Delhi said it would not auction spectrum for satellite broadband, but rather allocate it administratively – just as Elon Musk wanted. Rival Indian telecom billionaire Mukesh Ambani had wanted an auction.
Indian Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today confirmed that Starlink is in the process of obtaining the necessary security clearance, which requires the company to convince the Government of India that the company processes and stores all data locally in India, and that satellite signals are encrypted and 100% secure. percent safe.
“If you tick all the boxes, you get the license. If they (Starlink) do that, we will be very happy,” Mr Scindia said.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio currently dominates the Indian broadband market with over 14 million landline subscribers. Jio also has a user base of nearly 500 million mobile internet users. Airtel also has almost 300 million broadband subscribers. However, they are concerned that after spending more than $20 billion on spectrum auctions, they now risk losing customers to Elon Musk's Starlink as satellite technology continues to develop.
According to a Reuters report, Reliance Jio already has the necessary permissions to launch its own satellite broadband service but has not yet done so. Starlink has now informed the Government of India that it is willing to comply with Indian rules and regulations on security, data storage and servers.
When Reliance Jio first launched services, Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person at the time, had offered free broadband services to all subscribers to capture a majority market share. Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, is now adopting a similar strategy: In Africa, Musk is offering Starlink services for just $10 (about Rs 800) per month. In the US, Musk offers the same Starlink service for as much as $120 (approximately Rs 10,000) per month.
