The satellite internet segment of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink, is considering subsidising costs in India to make it more affordable to the masses. The company is going to offer its services in the Indian market at lower prices than the international market.
Based on a recent report from ET Telecom, Starlink India Director Sanjay Bhargava said the company will offer its subscription plans at a subsidized rate in India. Bhargava told the publication that its service was expensive and if the same costs were passed on to customers, it would be unaffordable.
He added that Starlink will need to offer services that will outweigh the pricing. The company will initially focus on interior regions of the country where internet service is difficult to access.
Starlink had earlier opened pre-bookings for its internet services in India with a deposit and received a considerable response in the country. Buyers had to pay a deposit of $99 or INR 7,350. 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 Gbps. The service is currently under testing and commercial services are expected to go live by the second half of 2022.
The company is exploring prospects of collaborating with telecom companies in India to expand broadband services in the country with a focus on rural areas.
In a video posted last month, Bhargava had outlined a phase-wise plan to extend Starlink services to rural communities in India by providing them hardware kits. The company intends to operate at least two lakhs of its devices in India, 1.6 lakh of which will be rural communities. The Starlink India chief said 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).
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.