Elon Musk reveals Starlink in talks to provide 'satellite internet' services to airlines

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed on Twitter on October 14 that his satellite-internet company Starlink is in talks with airlines to provide in-flight wifi. Musk’s revelations came out in response to a question by a Twitter user, who asked if he has any plans regarding the same.

Answering the question, Musk wrote, "Yes, we are talking to airlines about installing Starlink. Please let them know if you want it on your airliner. Low latency ~half gigabit connectivity in the air!".

Although the billionaire teased about Starlink's plans, he did not reveal much about which airline companies he is in talks with. The satellite-internet providing company plans to install as many as 12,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit and to date, has sent 1,740 Starlink satellites, as per CNBC's report. Launched back in 2018, Starlink is currently testing its services in the US, UK, Portugal, Chile, Canada and Australia. 

Interestingly, Starlink also plans to bring the services to India as it considers the sub-continent as a potential market, and might increase the scale of operations in the country soon.

Recently, Starlink Country Director India at SpaceX, Sanjay Bhargava, said in a LinkedIn post, "We will probably focus on ten rural Lok Sabha constituencies for 80% of the Starlink terminals shipped to India."

To enjoy the satellite services here in India, customers will have to pay $99, which roughly amounts to Rs. 7,400. The internet connection is said to have a latency between 20 to 40 milliseconds and speed might range between 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps. 

Image: Unsplash/AP