Starlink In Partnership Talks With Nelco, BSNL Ahead Of India Entry Plan: Report

SUMMARY

The Elon Musk-led company has initiated talks with Hughes, Tata Group-led Nelco and BSNL to expand its local services quickly

Notably, Starlink’s licence application is currently in the final stages of regulator approval

Besides, the company recently inked agreements with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL’s) subsidiary Jio Platforms

Satellite communication (satcom) operator Starlink is reportedly looking to partner with a host of homegrown telecom and satcom giants as the Elon Musk-led company makes a headway to enter the Indian market.

Citing sources, an ET report said that Starlink has already kicked off discussions with companies, including Hughes, Tata Group-led Nelco, and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL).

Additionally, the company is looking to partner with several companies to help expand its local services quickly.

This also comes at a time when Starlink recently inked agreements with homegrown telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL’s) subsidiary Jio Platforms.

As a part of these agreements, Bharti Airtel and Jio will sell Starlink devices at their retail outlets and provide Starlink services under their own brand to users.

Following this, telecom major Vodafone Idea also initiated discussions to collaborate with Starlink to offer their satellite-based internet services to its users. Besides, Vodafone Idea is also in talks with Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper.

Currently, Starlink’s licence application is in the final stages of regulator approval. Earlier this month, the satcom’s senior executives met Commerce minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the company’s plan for future investment in India.

Besides Starlink, Amazon Kuiper and Apple’s partner Globalstar are also putting efforts to obtain satcom licenses.

Starlink’s Huddles In India Entry

While the satcom company is in its final stage of approval for regulatory licence, it has faced several obstacles on its way.

For instance, in January, the company hit another regulatory trouble after the Indian forces recovered Starlink’s satellite internet devices from drug smugglers and insurgents in Manipur and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Later, the government directed the Musk-led company to comply with new mandates, including establishing a control centre in the country.

As per brokerage firm Jefferies, Starlink comes with limited capacity which may result in implementing premium pricing for its services in India.

While India will be an important market for Starlink, its launch is unlikely to be disruptive to tele communication companies like Jio and Airtel in the country, the report added.