Musk, Ambani join hands in surprise Starlink deal
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio signed a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services to India, a surprise move from the billionaires after being at odds for months over how the country should grant them spectrum.
Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, will stock Starlink equipment in its retail stores, providing Starlink with a direct distribution point in thousands of outlets nationwide.
This move comes after New Delhi finally sided with Musk’s lobbying approach for spectrum allocation.
While Ambani’s Reliance had been concerned that Musk might dominate the telecom market once his products were launched, the distribution deal will allow the Indian billionaire to offer his rival’s products in the rapidly growing market while also competing with them.
Neil Shah, co-founder of research firm Counterpoint, called the deal a prudent strategy for Starlink to enter the Indian market and a win-win for all parties involved, who had previously competed for the same pie and are now cooperating and sharing.
The Reliance deal follows a similar announcement of a partnership between Starlink and India’s second-largest telecom player, Bharti Airtel, just a day before. Both deals are contingent upon Starlink obtaining government approval to begin operations in India.
These agreements come weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Musk in Washington, where they discussed various topics, including space, mobility, technology, and innovation.
According to Deloitte, India’s satellite service sector is projected to grow at a rate of 36% annually, reaching a value of $1.9 billion by 2030.
Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licenses to operate commercially in India, but there is still no clear timeline for a decision, with reasons including national security concerns cited.
The Jio-SpaceX deal is contingent on specific financial terms.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, this partnership will enable Reliance to offer Starlink products in regions where the Indian company lacks existing offerings.
The source clarified that this deal represents a low-cost entry model for Starlink in India.
Jio Platforms, which operates Reliance Jio, will provide installation and activation support for the Starlink devices.
In a separate statement, Reliance indicated that Jio and SpaceX are also exploring other avenues of collaboration to capitalise on their respective infrastructures, though they did not provide further details.
Starlink currently provides coverage to over 125 markets across the globe.