Bharti Airtel’s share price will be the day’s focus on Wednesday as the company agreed to bring Starlink in India. In an exchange filing, Airtel announced an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet services to its customers in India.
This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its authorizations to sell Starlink in India. It enables Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.
Airtel further said the company and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, and opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centers, 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 utilize and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India.
The filing further stated that Airtel remains committed to delivering comprehensive and reliable connectivity and digital solutions, leveraging advanced technology with a focus on customer-centric services. By adding Starlink (in addition to its existing alliance with Eutelsat OneWeb) to its offerings, Airtel will further its ability to offer nationwide connectivity and connect previously underserved areas, particularly those with limited to no coverage today.
“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.”
He further said, “Technology is always evolving, and we’re committed to staying at the forefront of innovation so that we can continue to bring the best connectivity experience for our customers. This includes collaborating with global leaders like SpaceX to extend our reach and add new coverage to
customers throughout all of India.”
“We are excited to work with Airtel and unlock the transformative impact Starlink can bring to the
people of India. We are constantly amazed by the incredible and inspiring things that people,
businesses and organizations do when they are connected via Starlink,” said Gwynne Shotwell,
President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX.
“The team at Airtel has played a pivotal role in India’s telecom story, so working with them to complement our direct offering makes great sense for our business.”
Starlink In India
Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world. As the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit, Starlink delivers broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more.  Starlink is engineered and operated by SpaceX. As the world’s leading provider of launch services, SpaceX is leveraging its deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations to deploy the world’s most advanced broadband internet system.
A worry for Jio?
Reliance Jio is a market leader in India’s high-speed internet segment. A recent TRAI report suggested that out of the 40.27 million wired Internet subscribers, RJio commands 27.99 percent market share with 11.27 million subscribers, followed by Airtel with 7.73 million subscribers.
In the wireless Internet segment also, RJio dominates with a 51.39 percent market share with 469.73 million subscribers, followed by Airtel with a 30.97 percent market share and 283.10 million wireless Internet subscribers at the end of March 2024.
India’s fast-growing high-speed internet market was largely dominated by Reliance Jio, but now, Elon’s Starlink, owned by SpaceX, joining hands with Bharti Airtel could disrupt the market. Earlier, Starlink was struggling to get regulatory approvals from the Indian government, which exerts strict control over its telecom industry. The approval was denied due to security lapse concerns and resistance from the country’s domestic telecom operators.
Starlink operates on satellite internet service technology, It uses a network of satellites in low Earth orbits to transmit data to Earth via radio signals. This enables Starlink to offer high-speed internet with low latency, even in remote areas. It can disrupt the current teleco industry structure, and it can badly affect Jio by snatching internet and voice users from company.
Can Starlink start operating in India after this deal?
Partnering with Airtel will not directly translate into any regulatory concessions for Starlink in India. The company must still comply with local regulations and obtain a license from India’s Department of Telecommunications before it can launch its satellite-based services.
Investors should keep track of developments in this space. Jio invested close to $16bn to win the auction of high-speed satellite internet, but if Starlink enters the market, it could negatively impact its robust growth, which may taper, and it may face challenges in maintaining ARPU. It is to be seen on what condition Starlink is allowed to operate and how it prices its products and services to users to make further assumptions.
