Elon Musk-Owned Satellite Broadband Company Starlink Forms India Subsidiary

Elon Musk-owned satellite company Starlink has registered its business in India and it is in process to apply for licenses in the country, according to Sanjay Bhargava, India director for Starlink.

"Pleased to share that SpaceX now has a 100 per cent owned subsidiary in India. The name is SSCPL -- Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited and the incorporation date is November 1, 2021. We can now start applying for licenses, open bank accounts etc," Bhargava said in a LinkedIn post.

Last month, the company had announced that it would focus on 10 rural Lok Sabha constituencies to deliver internet services.

"In October I am also keen to have 30-minute virtual conversations with MPs, ministers, secretaries to GOI (government of India), or principal secretaries to states to see if they think 100 per cent broadband would help improve lives. We will probably focus on ten rural Lok Sabha constituencies for 80 per cent of the Starlink terminals shipped to India," Bhargava stated last month.

According to its website, the company’s satellite broadband services are being targeted in India in 2022, although it said availability is subject to regulatory approvals and would be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis.

Reportedly Starlink is charging a deposit of $99 (Rs 7,350) per customer. It claims to deliver data speed in the range between 50 to 150 megabits per second in the beta stage.

In broadband, the company's services will compete with those of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, and it will be a direct competitor to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, which is a satellite communications startup that intends to begin offering its services in India in May 2022.