Elon Musk on Starlink's India entry: ‘Look forward to serving…’

Elon Musk has expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming introduction of Starlink in India, emphasizing his commitment to providing satellite internet services to the nation. His remarks followed a meeting between Lauren Dreyer, Starlink's vice president of business operations, and Indian Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. In response to Scindia’s tweet, Musk stated, "Looking forward to serving India with @Starlink!" Scindia noted that satellite technology is crucial for improving connectivity, especially in rural and challenging terrains across the country. He highlighted that the discussions with SpaceX leaders focused on enhancing satellite-based last-mile access throughout India. Scindia further elaborated, emphasizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a digitally empowered India. He stated, "Satellite technology will play a pivotal role in extending connectivity to the most remote parts of the country, ensuring that digital inclusion accelerates broader development." Dreyer reinforced this commitment, stating that Starlink is eager to collaborate with Indian officials to deliver high-speed connectivity and promote digital empowerment across the nation. During a recent appearance on the WTF podcast, Musk discussed Starlink's potential to connect rural areas, acknowledging that the service is not ideal for densely populated cities due to physical limitations and network capacity constraints. Musk explained, "It's not physically possible for Starlink to serve densely populated cities effectively. It can serve maybe 1% or 2% of a densely populated city but can significantly improve internet access in rural regions, where connectivity is often lacking or prohibitively expensive." Recently, there was speculation about Starlink's pricing in India, with reports indicating a monthly subscription fee of ₹8,600 and a one-time hardware cost of ₹34,000. However, Dreyer clarified that these figures stemmed from a technical glitch, as the company’s website was not officially live yet, and the information was part of 'dummy test data.'