Elon Musk-led Starlink is currently eying for Indian market for their satellite broadband services. It’s obvious that they want to release their services as soon as possible because other companies like OneWeb, Amazon and Tata-Telesat are trying to enter in the same field. And Reliance Jio have already partnered with SES to provide satellite-based Internet services in India. So, when is Starlink in India is going to be released?
India seen major boost in Internet users with the arrival of Reliance Jio because they didn’t just offer free (and later cheap) Internet, but they also reached most corners of India right from start. However, whether it’s 4G or wired broadband, it cannot reach everywhere. There are still people who are not able to get either of them or facing problems with slow 4G or even 3G connectivity. So, there are many people who are looking forward for arrival of satellite-based high-speed broadband like Starlink.
If you are also waiting for their arrival, then this article might be useful for you to know the status as well as what is going to be their pricing structure and when they might release their services.
Pricing could be expensive-
It is already known that they will be charging around $99 per month which is around Rs. 7,400 right now. Besides that, the Starlink terminal will cost around $499 (one time) which is around Rs. 37,000 while drafting this article and alongside this, there will be 30% taxes/levies. So, the first year cost itself will cost you more than Rs. 1,50,000.
However, Starlink might try to reduce the cost for the user terminals by partnering with government, though it’s just speculations for now.
Speed-
It’s not tested in India yet. However, according to beta users around the world, it’s mostly around 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps, while some people reporting higher and lower speeds as well. So, it will be dependent on your location apart from weather conditions. We’ll have to see how it will perform here.
Besides that, poor weather will have impact on its speed as well. So, those living in heavy rainfall areas might face most difficulties.
Launch-
It was expected that Starlink will be getting license to serve in India by 31st January and services were to be released for beta testers by April, but there is no news regarding the same.
Conclusion:
Reliance Jio is entering the same field as Starlink. So, Starlink might face hard time considering Jio is known to offer cheaper services compared to competitors. In India, Starlink might need to provide cheaper services alongside stability to succeed.
