Recently, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio telecoms have announced their respective agreements with SpaceX.
So far, this tie-up is largely neutral for the two telecom companies and there seems to be no significant risk to growth potential for Indus Towers, according to the JM Financial.
Moving ahead, this agreement between the two telcos and SpaceX is limited to distributing Starlink’s satellite broadband services via their extensive retail network.
In return for some limited distribution income, these services will mostly be provided to the B2C and B2B customers in rural and remote areas hence empowering them with 200 mbps speed.
In future, Starlink, plans to collaborate with the telcos in the field of direct-to-cell satellite services as well, as per the report.
If you are wondering regarding the prices, according to the estimates the first year cost may soar to Rs 1.58 lakh including the equipment and services fees further sparking debate on affordability.
Bharti and Jio Agreement With SpaceX
Bharti and Jio announced their respective agreements with SpaceX last week.
Under this deal, they will be offering below services.
1) they will be offering Starlink’s equipment through their extensive retail network; Jio will also provide support in customer service installation and activation;
2) Starlink services will be provided to business customers, connect communities, schools, health centres, etc. in even the most rural parts of India. Further, the agreement talks of exploring future collaborative opportunities in the satellite communication space.
Please note here that these agreements are subject to SpaceX receiving authorization to sell Starlink’s services in India.
How Does Starlink Benefit from Bharti/Jio Extensive Retail Infrastructure?
Prior to this agreement, Elon Musk’s Starlink was on one side while Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel were on the other in terms of bringing their satellite broadband services in India and allocation of spectrum.
All of this changed amidst the new geopolitical setup.
Now, Bharti Airtel and Jio tie up will help Starlink’s expansion in India.
Starlink’s agreement with two telcos – Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio will bring broadband services to their customers in India.
This is not the first time as Starlink has already tied up with multiplace telcos in US (T-Mobile) and other countries (Rogers, Optus, One New Zealand, KDDI, Salt and Entel).
With this, they have to introduce and market its services quickly using their extensive retail infrastructure in new geographies.
