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PM Narendra Modi’s latest U.S. trip may bring significant changes to the Indian internet and telecom sector. The anticipation of Tesla coming to India is already on, and it looks like that’s not everything. The Indian government has bigger plans for Elon Musk, and this current U.S. trip of Prime Minister Modi may result in the fruition of another plan, which is to bring Starlink to India.
In December last year, Elon Musk announced that Starlink satellite internet is inactive in India, and that’s because Indian authorities have captured two of these devices in two sensitive areas. One of them was caught in an armed conflict zone, and the other one was caught in a drug smuggling bust. Since then, the operations of Starlink have been paused in India.
However, recently, sources mentioned that this scenario is soon going to change, as this recent U.S. trip of the Prime Minister is not only to meet Donald Trump regarding trade and tariffs and maintain the international relationship with the U.S., but it also includes a meeting with the billionaire businessman Elon Musk regarding the introduction of Starlink in the South Asian market.
Reportedly, Musk is likely to hold a one-to-one conversation with the Indian prime minister, during which the Indian government expects to discuss Starlink’s long-delayed plans of launching satellite broadband services in India.
At this point, neither Musk nor PM Modi’s office has announced anything regarding this meeting or any plans to talk about Starlink’s India introduction. Even the sources who provided this information denied stating their names.
Starlink has long been eyeing launching operations in India. India's market size is enormous, which makes it a key target for Starlink. Musk even submitted a license permission for that, which is currently under review. The biggest trouble at this point is the domestic competitors, and India's internet and telecom sector is completely under the control of the Ambanis.
Mukesh Ambani has been advocating for auctioning this sector to companies rather than assigning it to someone. But it looks like the Indian government is seriously analyzing this matter, as when it comes to internet and telecom connections, it is better to select someone reliable than to assign it to companies through auction.
Also, some regulations should be maintained, and as per sources, “Musk is agreeable to give assurances on India security concerns, which includes storing data locally.” Since the news of the Modi-Musk meeting regarding Starlink’s India entry has aired, Ambani’s firm, which has invested around $19 billion in acquiring airwaves, is concerned that Musk’s entry into the Indian broadband and telecom market will disrupt the chain. That’s what a source close to the development revealed to Reuters.
However, during this short U.S. trip, Narendra Modi is probably not going to meet any other businessmen except for Elon Musk.
