Govt issues Letter of Intent to Elon Musk's Starlink for satcom services

The government has issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Starlink, the satellite internet arm of Elon Musk-led SpaceX, for providing satellite communication (satcom) services in India, PTI reported, citing people aware of the matter.

Starlink, developed by the American aerospace giant SpaceX, offers high-speed, low-latency broadband internet globally through a constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Founded in 2002 by Musk, the world’s richest man, SpaceX has deployed more than 7,000 LEO satellites and plans to expand the network to over 40,000.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued the LoI to Starlink. Prior to this, the government had issued licences to Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications.

Unlike traditional geostationary satellite services, Starlink operates through LEO satellites positioned about 550 km above Earth, delivering broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, and video calls, even in remote areas.

Airtel, in a stock exchange filing, said the tie-up would explore how Starlink can complement Airtel’s services, including equipment sales through Airtel stores and connectivity for businesses, schools and health centres in remote parts of India.

The following day, Jio also announced its own pact with SpaceX in a surprise move that followed months of bickering over how Musk's venture should be granted spectrum.

Rivals Jio and Airtel had come together to demand an auction for awarding spectrum for satellite services in India as they feared an administrative allocation will give Musk airwaves at a price lower than what they had paid via auctions in the past.