After Airtel, Reliance Jio signs deal with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet to India

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has signed a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's internet services to its customers in India. The development came a day after rival Bharti Airtel inked a similar agreement with SpaceX.

“Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) announced an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services to its customers in India,” it said in a release today. The deal is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India.

As per the release, the deal will enable Jio and SpaceX to explore how Starlink can extend Jio’s offerings and how Jio can complement SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.  Jio will make Starlink solutions available through its retail outlets as well as through its online storefronts.

“Jio will not only offer Starlink equipment in its retail outlets but will establish a mechanism to support customer service installation and activation,” the release noted.

Through this agreement, the parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world's largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic and Starlink’s position as the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite constellation operator to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including the most rural and remote regions of India.

The agreement with SpaceX is part of Jio’s commitment to ensuring that reliable internet is fully accessible to all enterprises, small and medium businesses, and communities across India. Starlink complements JioAirFiber and JioFiber by extending high speed internet to the most challenging of locations in a quick and affordable manner.

Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to further enhance India’s digital ecosystem, the release noted.

“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. "Our collaboration with SpaceX to bring Starlink to India strengthens our commitment and marks a transformative step toward seamless broadband connectivity for all. By integrating Starlink into Jio’s broadband ecosystem, we are expanding our reach and enhancing the reliability and accessibility of high-speed broadband in this AI-driven era, empowering communities and businesses across the country," he said.

“We applaud Jio’s commitment to advancing India’s connectivity” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX. “We are looking forward to working with Jio and receiving authorization from the Government of India to provide more people, organizations and businesses with access to Starlink’s high-speed internet services.”

On Tuesday, Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Airtel has finalised a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India.