Elon Musk has taken a shine to Starlink to bring internet to rural and underserved areas of India and recommended satellite-based broadband as a technology to reach communities that are still poorly served by traditional telecom infrastructure.
Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, provides high-speed internet access using a network of low-Earth orbit satellites.
For rural areas, the technology is built to provide broadband access in areas where fibre-optic cables or large terrestrial networks are hard or expensive to build.
Musk’s comments have reignited the conversation on the role Starlink could play in India’s digital connectivity push, especially in the rural areas of India, where broadband access is still not very widespread.
Satellite internet is being marketed as a solution to rural and remote areas that lack access to modern infrastructure.
India has made great progress in expanding internet access over the past decade with cheap smartphones, extensive mobile networks and growing fibre connectivity.
But broadband service quality and availability in urban areas can still be very different from that in remote areas.
Higher connectivity is important not only for entertainment and social media users but also for rural people.
If internet access is reliable, online education, telemedicine, digital banking, e-commerce, government services and remote employment can be provided. Better connectivity might allow for access to larger markets for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Starlink’s approach is different from traditional broadband providers because satellites can cover large areas of space, without a physical fibre connection to every location.
That would be especially useful for remote communities and in difficult terrain.
At the same time, Starlink’s expansion into India will be dependent on regulatory approval, spectrum decisions, pricing and the company’s ability to build a customer base that will be sustainable. In rural areas, internet costs can be a significant expense.
Satellite broadband also comes at a time when India is being able to build up its digital infrastructure and connectivity as part of a larger plan to bridge the digital divide. Satellite services could complement existing mobile and fibre networks rather than replace them.
Musk’s pitch puts Starlink at the center of the debate on how new technologies can connect India’s least-served communities.
If satellite broadband becomes more widely available and competitively priced, it would be another means of bringing affordable internet service to those places where it is hard to reach out.
The key goal, of course, in India is to make sure that the benefits of the digital economy reach not only large cities but villages and remote communities.
Starlink may be one of many technologies contributing to that effort.
