SpaceX India Entry Will Empower Biz. Will Masses Gain From It?

The back-to-back, separate announcements by telecom’s Big Two are strikingly similar. Riding on SpaceX’s satellite network, the telcos plan to offer high-speed Internet services, boosting enterprise connectivity and productivity.

Subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India, the move could galvanise India’s telecom sector by providing additional bandwidth to telcos at no upfront cost. Airtel and Jio will not only be able to offer Starlink equipment in their retail outlets, but will also be able to establish a network structure to support customer service installation and activations, pan-India.

The icing: Starlink is the world’s top low-Earth orbit satellite constellation operator offering broadband access. This potentially opens up (for Airtel and Jio) a huge untapped market in rural and remote areas. The opportunity to provide easy and instant access to crores of un(der)served Indians is there — the question is whether this fits into the business plans and becomes reality.

Approval for Starlink’s launch also gains consequence in today’s times of surveillance and calls for greater transparency. Starlink devices are tough to intercept or tap into; hence, there has been reluctance on the part of security agencies to accord quick clearances.

Diplomatic See-Saw: Musk’s Ownership Of SpaceX

If the announcements from India’s Big Two were near-synchronised, SpaceX has been coincident too in its applause. Gwynne Shotwell, President-CEO of SpaceX, praised Airtel and Jio for their commitment to “advancing connectivity in India”, expressing optimism that government approvals for the Starlink launch would come soon.

“We look forward to the nod to provide people, organisations and businesses with access to high-speed internet services,” Shotwell said.

Diplomacy is delicate today as SpaceX — set up in 2002 to speed up and economise space launches — is owned by Musk, a close aide and confidante of US President Donald Trump. In recent weeks alone, the US has announced a slew of tough tariff measures against many countries, including India.

As reported in The Secretariat, notwithstanding his numero uno status on the ‘World’s Richest’ list, India has also often given Musk the snub. It happened with Musk’s infrastructure-hungry Tesla electric vehicles and was repeated when his Twitter (‘X’) buyout saw social media users thumb their noses. But Musk is tenacious, and Musk is back. This time, he is offering Starlink’s satellite mass-market Internet.

The carrot that Musk and SpaceX are dangling is juicy. It promises ready connectivity to crores of India’s unconnected, without dedicated hardware or special licenses. This time, Musk needs neither.

No Spectrum Sale: government Stand On Satcom Clear

India’s exchequer has always made merry on spectrum sales, with collections since auctions began in 2008 being over Rs 500,000 crore. Satellite comms firms have often reminded the government of this. Musk himself fired a salvo last year: “That (satcom auctions) would be unprecedented as this has been designated by ITU (International Telecommunications Union) as shared satellite spectrum.”

Echoes of the repartee clearly reached the intended ears, for Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified at the India Mobile Congress in October 2004 that no satcom auctions would be held in India. “Satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. That does not mean it comes without cost. The cost will be decided by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India),” he said.

With the debate on administrative allocation for satellite communications laid to rest, SpaceX’s entry gathers velocity. This is a key trigger for Airtel and Jio to partner with Starlink — easy and ready access to uber-precious spectrum at no upfront cost. With it, they can target the high-ARPU enterprise space and tap India’s one last remaining telecom-virgin citadel; the rural broadband Internet space.

Business Compulsions? SpaceX Drifts From Stated Intent

The telcos’ announcements are similar in timing and content, as mentioned, with comments on the rub-off impact on corporate and enterprise broadband access. Unsaid, they also signal a shift from Starlink’s own vision of connecting the unserved and underserved; SpaceX has always pitched its satellite services as a way to bridge the digital divide.

Analysts feel deeper compulsions are at play. “(Being business houses), Jio and Airtel have focussed on accessing premium bandwidth and spectrum, rather than digital inclusion,” explains Sandeep Ghosh, Director at India Telecom Solutions. “Starlink’s promise of connecting rural India could be lost in the corporate shuffle if these deals cater only to businesses and big cities,” he added.

Airtel and Jio also make no significant mention of targeting the unconnected. Instead, they speak of Starlink’s potential to deliver enterprise-grade services, positioning it as a premium offering for businesses and industries that demand reliable, high-speed connectivity.

Rajat Arora, Analyst at Research360 India, says: “These deals are a major step for satellite Internet in India, with a possible transformational impact on enterprise and corporate connectivity. There’s no stated intent on the rural market; that makes the goal of universal connectivity a distant possibility.”

Great For Enterprises. Can Be Great For Masses Too

The collaboration between SpaceX, Airtel and Jio will energise enterprise connectivity and fuel India’s telecom rivalry. Should Starlink services also become available to the masses, the potential to lift crores out of digital poverty and unlock opportunities for India’s untapped rural heartland remains immense.

Starlink could do a whole lot. Farmers could access weather updates and market prices, students could access online learning resources and entrepreneurs could expand small commerce through e-options.

“In rural India, satellite services could serve as a lifeline for education, healthcare and economic development,” says Anjali Sharma, Research Fellow at India Digital Futures Institute.

At the SpaceX launch in 2002, Musk memorably said: “You wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great. That’s what being a space-faring civilisation is about. It’s about believing in the future. I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”

True. Everyone deserves a chance to walk on the clouds. And beyond.

(The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. Views are personal)