Airtel announced today an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell Starlink in India. It enables Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.
Telecom major Airtel on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India.
This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink in the country.
Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India.
Airtel and SpaceX will explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network. They will also assess how SpaceX can utilise and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India, said the company.
“Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity,” said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Bharti Airtel.
“This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet,” he added.
Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers – wherever they live and work, said Vittal.
By adding Starlink in addition to its existing alliance with Eutelsat OneWeb to its offerings, Airtel will further its ability to offer nationwide connectivity and connect previously underserved areas, particularly those with limited to no coverage today.
With the Starlink Enterprise Suite, Airtel will be able to offer enterprises, businesses, and communities comprehensive and seamless connectivity packages.
“We are excited to work with Airtel and unlock the transformative impact Starlink can bring to the people of India. We are constantly amazed by the incredible and inspiring things that people, businesses and organizations do when they are connected via Starlink,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX.
“The team at Airtel has played a pivotal role in India’s telecom story, so working with them to complement our direct offering makes great sense for our business,” Shotwell added.
Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world. As the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit, Starlink delivers broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.
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“Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity,” said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Bharti Airtel Ltd. “This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers – wherever they live and work.”
“Technology is always evolving and we’re committed to staying at the forefront of innovation so that we can continue to bring the best connectivity experience for our customers. This includes collaborating with global leaders like SpaceX to extend our reach and add new coverage to customers throughout all of India.”
“We are excited to work with Airtel and unlock the transformative impact Starlink can bring to the people of India. We are constantly amazed by the incredible and inspiring things that people, businesses and organizations do when they are connected via Starlink,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX. “The team at Airtel has played a pivotal role in India’s telecom story, so working with them to complement our direct offering makes great sense for our business.”
About Bharti Airtel Limited:
Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 550 million customers in 15 countries across India and Africa. The company also has its presence in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka though its associate entities. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that include secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and cloud-based communication. Within our diversified portfolio, we offer passive infrastructure services through our subsidiary Indus Tower Ltd. For more details visit www.airtel.com
About Starlink by SpaceX
Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet to users all over the world. As the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit, Starlink delivers broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more. Starlink is engineered and operated by SpaceX. As the world’s leading provider of launch services, SpaceX is leveraging its deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations to deploy the world’s most advanced broadband internet system. Learn more at www.starlink.com Follow Starlink on X https://x.com/Starlink