Elon Musk's Starlink secures DoT licence to launch in India, but high tariffs may limit rural reach

Elon Musk's Starlink has officially received a licence from the government to provide satellite internet services in India. This significant development follows Starlink's announced

partnerships with homegrown telecom giants, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Bharti Airtel, in March 2025. It also marks a crucial milestone that will pave the way for the Musk-led company to

launch its commercial satellite operations in the country.

Before Starlink, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had already issued satellite internet service licences to Eutelsat OneWeb, in which Bharti Airtel is a shareholder, and Reliance

Jio's Jio Satellite Communications. While Startlink has not officially released a statement, news agency PTI, citing sources, has confirmed that it has been granted its operating licence in

India.

Another major satellite player, Jeff Bezos-led Amazon's Kuiper, is also vying for a satellite internet services licence in India, though it is yet to receive the final approval to operate in

the country.

Starlink provides satellite communication (satcom) services using a constellation of over 7,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. These satellites, orbiting at 550 kilometers compared to

36,000 kilometers for geostationary satellites, offer low latency (time delay between a request and response measured in milliseconds) globally.

Today, India boasts 1.15 billion mobile subscribers (the most anywhere after China), with 898.5 million of them having mobile broadband services. These subscribers pay among the lowest

telecom tariffs globally, with an average revenue per user (ARPU) of ₹172.57 per month. According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, India already has the highest average monthly data usage

per smartphone at 32GB, which is expected to hit 66GB by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13%. Monthly usage per subscriber is also high at 974 minutes.

Therefore, say experts, what Starlink will offer is not unique to the $48 billion Indian telecom market.

As reported by Fortune India earlier, Starlink will be able to offer services in areas where network coverage remains inadequate. But this will not be cheap. To access Starlink services in a

remote area, users will require customer premise equipment (CPE) that currently costs around $300 (₹25,500) for internet access. While prices may fall as volumes rise, this is still quite

expensive in a country where people often deliberate before investing in a ₹5,000 smartphone.

Apart from a higher acquisition cost, the service will also be more expensive because Starlink will have to pay an 8% licence fee plus a yet-to-be-announced spectrum usage charge (SUC). In

the case of auctioned spectrum, the SUC is currently 0%, but the government has specified that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively, following global practices. Additionally,

both Airtel and Jio will need to pay a licence fee and SUC on their earnings from Starlink.

As part of the tie-up, both Airtel and Jio will sell Starlink hardware through their stores, offering it as another means for consumers to stay connected. Under the agreement, Starlink gains

access to the retail outlets of Jio and Airtel. The telcos will assist Starlink in setting up services for customers via various devices such as the Starlink dish, the router, the Starlink

cable, and the AC cable. Airtel plans to utilise this technology to expand services in schools and remote healthcare locations.

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