After Airtel, Jio Joins Hand With Elon Musk's SpaceX To Offer Starlink Services In India

The Reliance Group's digital services company Jio Platforms Limited has signed an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband internet services to its customers in India, the company said on Wednesday.

The agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisation to sell Starlink in India. The development came a day after Jio's rival Bharti Airtel signed a similar pact with SpaceX. "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," Mathew Oommen, the Group CEO of Reliance Jio, said.

The pact enables 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, the statement said.

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. Jio will not only offer Starlink equipment in its retail outlets but will also establish a mechanism to support customer service installation and activation, according to the statement.

It also said that 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, the statement said. Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to enhance India's digital ecosystem further.

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