Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio announced a pact with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services in India, a surprise move that follows months of bickering over how Musk’s venture should be granted spectrum.
The deal with Musk comes a day after telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX.
Rivals Jio and Airtel had come together to demand an auction for awarding spectrum for satellite services in India as they feared an administrative allocation will give Musk airwaves at a price lower than what they had paid via auctions in the past.
This agreement “is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India”, Jio Platforms said in a statement on Wednesday.
Jio will offer Starlink equipment through its retail outlets as well as through its online storefronts. Jio and SpaceX will also explore how they can boost each other’s offerings.
The deals by Airtel and Jio come weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in Washington to discuss issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.
During the trip, the prime minister had also met Trump, whose administration has upped the ratchet on tariffs against countries including India. Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to further enhance India’s digital ecosystem.
“Ensuring that every Indian, no matter where they live, has access to affordable and high-speed broadband remains Jio’s top priority,” said Mathew Oommen, Group CEO, Reliance Jio.
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