NEW DELHI (AP) – The Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with the Starlink from Elon Musk to explore that the services of the American satellite internet giant are delivered to customers in India, depending on the government’s approval.
Musk has long wanted Starlink the most densely populated market in the world, but the entry into India has been delayed by regulatory challenges, safety problems and opposition to domestic telecom giants such as billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
AIRTEL – The second largest telecom operator in India – said in a statement that his deal with Starlink depends on whether the subsidiary of US Aerospace Company SpaceX can receive government goods inspection to start in India.
At least 40% of more than 1.4 billion people from India still have no access to the internet and cheap satellite width tire is needed to bridge this gap, especially in the enormous remote and mountainous areas of India.
Musk’s Starlink has at least 6,900 active satellites in a job around the earth in a job to offer broadband with low latency, including to areas where the internet was previously completely unavailable.
Last November, the Indian Minister of Telecom, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that Starlink did not yet have to meet security standards, and that a license for satellite communication services would only be issued after the company meets all requirements.
The announcement about the airtel partnership comes weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra met Musk in Washington, where they discussed issues such as space, mobility, technology and innovation.
The deal will “investigate how Starlink can supplement and expand the airtel offer, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market supplements the direct offers from SpaceX to consumers and companies,” said the company’s statement.
As part of the agreement, the two companies will explore Starlink equipment at the huge Airtel shopping network, Starlink Services via Airtel to business customers, and use each other’s network infrastructure to improve coverage throughout India.
The statement did not give any further details.
