Gulveen Aulakh
New Delhi, December 8:
Elon Musk-led satellite broadband firm Starlink has rolled out its residential tariff for India at around ₹8,600 per month, along with a one-time terminal cost of nearly ₹34,000 for equipment required to access its satellite network. The plan offers unlimited data, 99.9% uptime, and a 30-day trial window, positioning itself as a premium service targeting high-end consumers.
While enterprise and business packages are yet to be announced, the consumer plan listed on Starlink’s website places the service far above domestic broadband pricing, costing at least 10 times more than entry-level plans offered by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, BSNL and ACT, and about five times costlier than average urban broadband tariffs.
A comparison with neighbouring markets shows India pricing sitting at the higher end. As per listings on Starlink’s website, monthly tariffs in Bangladesh are $40–50 (₹3,400–4,300) with equipment costs in the ₹25,800–₹34,400 range, while Sri Lanka subscribers pay $100–125 (₹8,600–10,750) monthly with equipment priced at ₹77,400–₹86,000. Download speeds advertised for the India plan range between 190–360 Mbps, on par with global offerings.
Sector analysts believe Starlink may struggle for mass adoption given India’s price-sensitive broadband market, where fiber-based high-speed packages from leading telecom players top out at ₹2,500–₹3,500 with bundled OTT and IPTV subscriptions.
“The price plans indicated by Starlink are much higher than wireline connections being offered on fiber or copper. In a price-sensitive market like India, these kinds of tariffs are unlikely to find many takers,” said Ankit Jain, vice-president and co-group head at ICRA.
Starlink, which is awaiting regulatory approvals for full-scale rollout, is betting on satellite connectivity to serve remote and underserved regions—areas where fiber deployment remains difficult. Whether the premium pricing finds traction in India’s competitive telecom landscape will be closely watched in the months ahead.
