With Starlink preparing to enter the Indian market, the satcom provider owned by Elon Musk is said to be considering a monthly subscription cost of between INR 3,000 and INR 4,200.

According to Business Standard, citing sources, the anticipated price of Starlink kits (which comprise a satellite dish and a Wi-Fi router) in the country is a hefty INR 33,000.

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The satcom operator’s equipment will be sold at the retail stores of telecom companies Airtel and Reliance Jio.  The two telecom operators entered into individual agreements to distribute the satcom company’s products and services in India.

The report indicates that the pricing strategy of the US-based firm in India will resemble that of other countries in the subcontinent, such as Bangladesh and Bhutan, where Starlink began operations in May and February, respectively.  However, the monthly plans for India might be a bit more expensive than those in underdeveloped African countries such as Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

The report added that Starlink’s pricing strategy in the country will be dictated by capacity constraints and global costs despite India’s large market size. 

According to the sources, the company has little to gain from reducing prices to draw in more customers, and it will continue to offer a premium service due to capacity constraints, as it can only cater to around 1 million connections in the short to medium term.

This aligns largely with Jefferies’ comments in a note from February of this year.  The brokerage firm observed that Starlink’s present capacity could accommodate 0.18 million subscribers in India, potentially increasing to 5.7 million users by 2030 with a 30-fold capacity increase.

With a network of more than 7,600 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, Starlink currently provides services in over 125 countries.  It has been reported that the company intends to launch as many as 12,000 satellites in order to finish building the constellation.

Starlink reportedly received a Letter of Intent (LoI) from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to operate satellite-based internet services in India a month before this.  Just a few days ago, it obtained a crucial endorsement from the telecom ministry to commence operations in the country.

In addition, the company led by Elon Musk has been seeking to establish partnerships with major domestic telecom and satcom companies like Hughes, Tata Group’s Nelco, and the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to enhance its presence in India.

Nonetheless, the company still faces potential regulatory issues.  In the previous month, the telecom department released a new set of 29 stringent security conditions for obtaining satcom licenses, including requirements for real-time terminal tracking, local data processing, legal interception capabilities, and localization.  Starlink reportedly consented to these mandates.

Additionally, the government has established a satcom monitoring facility with an investment of INR 900 Cr, as international satcom companies rush to enter the Indian market.

In addition to Starlink, Project Kuiper, which Amazon backs, has also pursued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide satcom services in the country. It has been reported that the company intends to establish 10 gateways and two points of presence in Chennai and Mumbai.

Another player is Globalstar, an Apple vendor that has also applied for permission from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to provide launch services in India.