Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service, Starlink, is expected to enter the Indian market by the end of 2025 or early 2026, but its adoption is likely to remain limited due to high costs and restricted capacity.
Speaking in Parliament, Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, informed that the monthly subscription for Starlink in India will be around ₹3,000, while the upfront cost of the terminal hardware will be “quite high.” This cost barrier could significantly limit mass adoption, especially in rural and low-income regions.
Dr Pemmasani added that Starlink will be able to support only about 20 lakh (2 million) connections across the country, due to its technical and satellite bandwidth limitations. Addressing concerns about its potential to disrupt the existing broadband market, the minister clarified:
“Satellite communication services like Starlink cannot provide meaningful pan-India connectivity and are not a risk to existing telecom players.”
Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, uses a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver high-speed internet directly to users, bypassing the need for ground infrastructure like fiber cables or towers. This makes it suitable for remote or underserved regions where traditional telecom networks have limited reach.
However, the current constraints on terminal affordability and connection capacity mean that Starlink is unlikely to compete with established Indian telecom providers such as Jio, Airtel, or BSNL, which offer more affordable and scalable broadband solutions through fiber and 4G/5G networks.
