Elon Musk led Starlink to offer internet at cheaper rates in India: Report

Elon Musk led Starlink is planning to subsidize costs for the Indian market. The SpaceX owned satellite internet provider is reportedly offering its service in India at a lower cost than international markets. The company had earlier started taking pre-bookings for the service in India with a deposit amount and received decent interest from users in India.

Based on a recent report from ET Telecom, it is said that Starlink will offer its subscription plans at a subsidized rate in India. Sanjay Bhargava, who is the India Head for Starlink, told the publication that its service was expensive and if the same costs were passed on to customers, it would be unaffordable.

Starlink satellite internet to be cheaper in India

Bharghava went on to imply that the Starlink service needs to offer benefits that will outdo its pricing. The company will currently focus on interior areas of the country, where Internet service is very difficult to access. The company wants to change the Internet game by providing both better pricing and access.

For those who want a refresher, SpaceX started taking bookings for the Starlink service in India earlier this year. In India, buyers had to pay a deposit of INR 7,500. As part of the package, Starlink will provide a dish satellite, a receiver, and all the equipment required for setting it up. Initially, the speeds are said to be in the range of 100-150Mbps.

However, once more Starlink satellites are deployed in low-earth orbit, the speeds are expected to reach in Gbps. The service is currently under testing and commercial services are expected to go live by the second half of 2022.

In the report, Bhargava says that Starlink will provide 100 devices to schools for free, with 20 of them distributed in Delhi schools and the rest 80 in rural areas around Delhi.

Lately, there have been rumours of Starlink joining hands with either Jio or Vodafone Idea in India. This could help Starlink reach remote areas of the country easily, although this is just a rumour for now.