Starlink poses limited threat to local telecom giants: Report

Elon Musk-owned Starlink’s anticipated entry and upcoming satellite broadband services are unlikely to pose a major threat to Indian telecom giants Jio and Airtel as their broadband plans offer better pricing, higher speed and unlimited data, a report has said.

The report by JM Financial, which was released on Saturday, said Starlink’s services would instead complement the existing network of local telecom firms, helping to expand high-speed internet access to remote and rural areas.

Drawing a comparison, the internet plans from Starlink and other satellite communication companies range between $10 and $500 per month, with additional one-time hardware costs of $250 to $380. Indian companies, on the other hand, offer home broadband plans starting at just $5 to $7 per month, with premium plans providing 1 Gbps speed and access to streaming services for around $47 per month. While Starlink’s plans come with data caps, Jio and Airtel provide unlimited data.

“Given India’s price-sensitive market, Starlink’s higher costs and speed limitations make it less competitive for urban users,” the report said.

The current agreement primarily focuses on distribution, while there is potential for future collaboration between Jio, Bharti and Starlink in direct-to-cell satellite services.

Starlink has already partnered with telecom companies like T-Mobile (US), Rogers (Canada), Optus (Australia) and KDDI (Japan) to provide satellite connectivity.

“Despite this, industry experts believe direct-to-cell satellite broadband is unlikely to disrupt India’s wireless market due to several factors,” it said. The reasoning was that technology still faced technical challenges such as difficulty in maintaining reliable smartphone connectivity due to power and antenna limitations.