Starlink Plans Yet To Be Out In India, A Look At Pricing In Other Nations

Elon Musk’s satellite communication company Starlink has received the licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), a key milestone that will take it closer towards launching commercial operations in India. 

It is the third firm, after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, to have been issued the licence to provide satellite internet services in the country. A fourth applicant, Amazon’s Kuiper, is awaiting approval. 

According to DoT sources, the satellite-based internet service provider owned by billionaire Elon Musk will begin operations in India within 12 months by offering 600 to 700 Gbps, or gigabytes per second, of bandwidth.

While the pricing for the low-Earth-orbit satellite internet service is yet to be announced in India, where data prices are currently among the cheapest in the world, former Starlink India Country Director Sanjay Bhargava said in 2022 that it would cost Rs 1.58 lakh per connection for the first year. From the second year, the cost would reduce to Rs 1.15 lakh, he said.