Starlink's debut: The back story

Airtel, Jio say pact with SpaceX is contingent on the US co receiving approvals for Starlink's India ops

- RAKESH KUMAR @ New Delhi

THIS week, Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel dominated the news by announcing partnerships with Elon Musk's SpaceX to offer broadband services via Starlink in India.

The first announcement came from Sunil Mittal-led Airtel, followed by a similar announcement from Jio the next day.

Both companies say the agreement is contingent on SpaceX receiving the necessary regulatory approvals to operate Starlink in India.

The announcement surprised many, particularly because Jio, considered a competitor to Starlink, has long been at odds with SpaceX over satellite communication spectrum allocation.

While Musk has advocated for a global allocation model, Jio and Airtel have called for an auction system, citing fairness and a level playing field.

This became a heated issue during a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) open house discussion on satellite authorisation in November, with the two Indian telcos arguing for a level playing field to protect their network investments.

It is speculated that the decision by Jio and Airtel to partner with Starlink may have been forced upon by the government amid the threat of reciprocal tariff by the US administration.

WHY THE PARTNERSHIP?

The big question is why these companies, which have their own satellite broadband ventures—Airtel with Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio with SES—would partner with SpaceX.

The press releases from both Airtel and Jio were almost similar, stating their collaboration with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband services in India.