According to reports, Musk’s Starlink may launch unlimited data plans in India at promotional prices of less than $10 (about ₹840) per month as it prepares to enter the second-largest telecom market in the worldread more
Elon Musk’s Starlink, as well as other satellite communication providers including the Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, Reliance Jio’s joint venture with SES, and Globalstar, may soon launch services in India.
Although the precise cost has not yet been disclosed, a report has provided insight into what consumers may anticipate paying for mobile high-speed satellite internet connection.
According to a report by The Economic Times, which cites analyst projections, Musk’s Starlink may launch unlimited data plans in India at promotional prices of less than $10 (about ₹840) per month as it prepares to enter the second-largest telecom market in the world.
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According to industry experts, satellite internet providers will strive for a low entry price point to quickly grow their user base, with the goal of reaching up to 10 million subscribers in the medium to long term. This will allow them to achieve economies of scale that will offset significant investments in infrastructure and spectrum, the report stated.
While monthly data plans may be reasonably priced, the report stated that hardware expenses may be a concern for customers. Compared to Indian home broadband options, which not only have inexpensive hardware costs but also provide up to 1 Gbps speeds and included OTT apps, Starlink’s hardware kits cost $250 (about ₹21,300) to $380 (roughly ₹32,400) worldwide.
According to a report, Starlink has received a letter of intent from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and is seeking final clearance from India’s space regulator, while Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES have obtained regulatory permits.
Since satellite internet doesn’t rely on physical infrastructure like fibre cables or mobile towers, it may reach underserved, rural, or distant areas where standard broadband services are either too expensive or unavailable.
Even though Starlink has a strong pricing strategy, technical limitations could limit its potential. IIFL Research estimates that 4 million users worldwide are served by Starlink’s present 7,000-unit satellite capacity. Only over 1.5 million consumers in India might be served by Starlink by FY2030, even with an increased fleet of 18,000 satellites.
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The IIFL analysis also noted that based on India’s predicted 0.7% to 0.8% geographical share of global satellite coverage, only 700–800 satellites will ever reach the nation. This pales in comparison to India’s current terrestrial infrastructure, which comprises more than 800,000 telecom towers and 3 million base transceiver stations (BTS).