Mukesh Ambani-Led Jio’s Rival Bharti Airtel Inks Pact With Elon Musk’s Starlink For High Speed Internet In India

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has announced its partnership with Elon Musk-led Starlink to bring high-speed internet connectivity in the country.

The Indian telecom company stated the same in a press release dated March 11, 2025. This puts a possible end to the brouhaha over the spectrum allocation by the GOI, which has drawn from one of the major telecoms in the world, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. While the government has been in favor of allocating the spectrum, Indian companies, primarily Jio, have been lobbying the government for auctioning. However, Starlink’s application for the satellite spectrum is still under review.

With Jio rival Airtel’s partnership, Starlink will be able to integrate its services locally without investing extensively in infrastructure. The Airtel-Starlink announcement comes within weeks of the Modi-Musk meeting in Washington, during the Indian Prime Minister’s US visit.

Per Airtel’s MD and Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal, the deal with Starlink will help the company “deliver world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote regions of India, ensuring seamless and reliable internet access for individuals, businesses, and communities.” “Starlink will enhance and complement Airtel’s diverse product offerings, providing dependable and affordable broadband solutions to customers across the country, regardless of their location,” he added.

Elon Musk’s Starlink company has over 5 million subscribers worldwide. The satellite internet company relies on a constellation of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites to relay high-speed data across the world without the need of a tower. The American aerospace company has some 7,000 LEO satellites in orbit, with plans to deploy 12,000 more.

Bharti Airtel, on the other hand, has 384.51 million subscribers in India, with 1.93 million new users added in December 2024. Rival Jio has over 485 million subscribers. Will a pact with Starlink boost Airtel to assert dominance over Jio?

#JustIn | #BhartiAirtel signs agreement with #SpaceX to bring #Starlink’s high-speed internet to its customers in India pic.twitter.com/8OGS6fU13C
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) March 11, 2025

#BhartiAirtel inks pact with #SpaceX to bring #Starlink‘s high-speed internet to its customers in #India.

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— NDTV Profit (@NDTVProfitIndia) March 11, 2025