Elon Musk’s Starlink to explore collaboration with Indian telcos for broadband

Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s satellite broadband arm Starlink is planning to explore collaboration with telecom companies in India to expand broadband services in the country with a focus on rural areas, a top company official said on Friday.

Starlink Country Director India at SpaceX Sanjay Bhargava told PTI that discussions with broadband service providers will start once the 12 Phase-1 aspirational districts are identified by the Niti Aayog and the company will see the interest levels of the various players and the USOF (universal service obligation fund).

“I am hoping that we will get a time-bound 100 per cent broadband plan that can serve as a model for other districts but the devil is in the details and there may be many good reasons why one or more broadband providers do not want to collaborate,