BSNL, Elon Musk's Starlink & Tata To Come Together? A Triumvirate That Could Shake Up The Telecom Industry In India

It was at the beginning of 2024 that Elon Musk's SpaceX-owned Starlink received its green signal for starting what many are deeming to be a potential revolution in the field of high-speed satellite internet.

The Triple Threat Of Internet

It is being reported that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of India is en route to granting Starlink the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite or GMPCS licence. According to an Economic Times Report, the government gave the company in-principle approval in the matter.

Although the company still requires regulatory permissions to go ahead with commercial services, this was a big step after Starlink first applied for the license in 2022.

This comes amidst the news that there is a new telecom and internet revolution around the corner. According to reports, one of India's most valued conglomerates, Tata Group, is said to be backing Elon Musk's mission to bring high-speed satellite internet to the subcontinent.

Not just that, it is also said that this grouping will also involve the state-owned BSNL, which has fallen out of favour in the competitive commercial market.

Recently, BSNL, which has often been neglected, made it to the news for developing its own indigenous 4G or 4th generation, service amidst the 5G wave that swept across the world.

It is being claimed that this supposed 'Triumvirate' of BSNL, Starlink and Tata, if brought to reality, could bring about a tectonic shift in the communication business of the country.

The Mega Internet Battle

This development in particular could be a big hit for the existing 'triplets' of the Indian telecom business, namely Reliance Jio, Airtel and the ever-troubled Vodafone Idea.

These three companies are currently part of the system, that is deemed by many to be oligopolistic. The recent surge in tariff rates, which saw an average hike of around 20 per cent in mobile data plan rates, has not been welcomed by many.

These companies reportedly intend to achieve an average revenue per user or ARPU, of Rs 300.

According to reports, Starlink's satellite internet in India can provide internet speeds of up to 300 Mbps, which is far faster than the 94.62 Mbps download and 9.02 Mbps upload speeds for mobile internet and an average of 58.62 Mbps download and 50.42 Mbps upload speeds for broadband in India.