SpaceX founder Elon Musk is looking forward to making his way in India by setting up broadband services in rural India. As per sources, SpaceX’s branch of satellite broadband, Starlink is planning to collaborate with Indian telecom companies to expand broadband services in rural areas.
Sanjay Bhargava, Director, Starlink India told a news agency that discussions with broadband service providers will start once the 12 Phase-1 aspirational districts are identified by the Niti Aayog and the company will see the interest levels of the various players and the USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund).
Bhargava said, “I am hoping that we will get a time-bound 100 per cent broadband plan that can serve as a model for other districts but the devil is in the details and there may be many good reasons why one or more broadband providers do not want to collaborate, though to me that seems unlikely.”
Reportedly, Starlink has over 5,000 pre-orders from India and the company charges a deposit fee of Rs 7,350 per customer which is $99. The company promises a data speed of 50-150 megabits per second in the beta stage.
As announced earlier, the company will initially focus on 10 rural Lok Sabha constituencies. “At Starlink, we can roll out fast if we have to license approval and…The starlinks could move to other remote areas,” Bhargava said.
Bhargava took to social media and said that he would like to collaborate with everyone. “We want to collaborate with all and have others besides us licensed to provide satellite broadband so that satellite plus terrestrial together can provide 100 per cent broadband, especially in rural districts.”
