India's Jio-Bharti sign deals to bring Starlink to country

Two Indian telecom giants have signed pacts with US billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink internet services to the South Asian country.

Reliance Jio said Wednesday 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.”

"Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to further enhance India's digital ecosystem,” it added.

The deal follows a similar agreement announced by another Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel.

“Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity,” Bharti Airtel Managing Director and Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said in a statement.

Both agreements are subject to SpaceX receiving authorizations to sell Starlink in India.

Last month during his visit to the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Musk in Washington, DC.

Modi later described the meeting as “good” and said space, mobility, technology and innovation were discussed.