Union Minister of Railways, Electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has given a warm welcome to Elon Musk's Starlink in India, a major milestone in the growth of affordable satellite internet services in the country.
India's top telecom majors Airtel and Jio Platforms have joined hands with SpaceX to introduce Starlink's high-speed connectivity to Indian customers.
"Starlink, welcome to India! This will be useful for remote area railway projects," Vaishnaw tweeted on X.
Airtel initially announced its partnership with SpaceX to launch Starlink internet services, then Jio Platforms announced the same on the following day.
Under this program, Airtel and SpaceX intend to pursue several options, such as selling Starlink hardware at Airtel's retail outlets and offering satellite internet services to business clients. The collaboration is expected to fill connectivity gaps in rural communities, schools, and healthcare facilities, providing high-speed internet even in India's most rural regions.
Besides, both organizations will explore how Starlink can supplement and augment Airtel's network architecture and utilize Airtel's vast ground network advantage in India.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, underscored the arrival of a new era of ubiquitous global connectivity, referring to the future when consumers will enjoy continuous mobile connectivity even in the most inaccessible places, ranging from skies to deep oceans.
Addressing the just-concluded 'Mobile World Congress 2025' in Barcelona, Mittal called on the leaders of telecom and satellite industries to come together, pooling their capabilities to reach universal connectivity.
"I am happy that this vision is being translated into action through active partnerships between satellite operators and telecom companies," he stated.
Mittal also pointed out that the inclusion of satellite technology into telecom business must be seen as an organic progression, similar to the shift from 4G to 5G and then 6G, ultimately.
"By introducing SAT-G, we are incorporating a game-changing technology in our portfolio, which will provide connectivity where the normal networks do not have reach," he added.
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