Elon Musk's Starlink to launch ₹3,000 monthly unlimited internet plans in India; check the hardware cost

Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture, Starlink, is set to offer unlimited data plans in India starting at ₹3,000 per month, CNBC Awaaz reported on Monday.

The consumers will reportedly be required to make a one-time payment of ₹33,000 for the hardware.

Unlike traditional geostationary satellite services, Starlink operates through a constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites positioned about 550 km above Earth. It can deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, and video calls, even in remote and underserved areas.

However, Starlink need to obtain further approvals from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), secure spectrum allocation, and establish the necessary ground infrastructure to commence commercial operations in India.

At present, no telecom operator in India has been allotted spectrum or has developed the infrastructure required for satcom services. The company will have to wait for final spectrum allocation and regulatory clearance from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) before launching services.

The government has already issued licences to Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications ahead of Starlink’s LoI.

In March, telecom majors Airtel and Jio independently announced agreements with SpaceX to explore and enable Starlink services across the country.

Starlink plans to deliver 600–700 Gbps of bandwidth in India, primarily targeting rural and remote regions where conventional fibre or mobile connectivity remains limited or non-existent.

Former Starlink India head Sanjay Bhargava had estimated a first-year cost of ₹1.58 lakh, which would reduce to ₹1.15 lakh in subsequent years. The updated pricing is in line with Starlink’s recent launch in Bangladesh, where the service is available at ₹3,000 per month with a hardware cost of ₹33,000, bringing the total first-year cost to around ₹66,000.

Starlink currently operates in several Asian markets, including Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Monthly pricing across these countries typically ranges from ₹2,600 to ₹6,000, depending on the plan and region.