'Starlink, Welcome to India!' Tweets Ashwini Vaishnaw; Backs Network for Remote Railway Projects

New Delhi: Tech billionaire Elon Musk's internet service, Starlink, is set to debut in India, with giant telecom companies like Airtel and Reliance Jio partnering with SpaceX. Today, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw welcomed Starlink to kick-off operations in the country.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, in his post on X, wrote, "Starlink, welcome to India!" He added, "It will be useful for remote area railway projects."

Ashwini Vaishnaw Welcomes Starlink in India

Welcoming Starlink to India, and expressing excitement about its potential impact, Union Minister Vaishnaw highlighted that the network would be particularly beneficial for railway projects in remote areas.

Also Read: Elon Musk's Starlink To Get Access To 47.6 Cr Indians, Thanks To Airtel, Jio - Data

Earlier on Wednesday, Reliance Jio announced in a statement its partnership with SpaceX to provide Starlink's broadband internet services to its customers in India. However, the agreement is contingent upon SpaceX receiving the necessary authorizations to sell Starlink in India.

This comes a day after Bharti Airtel announced a similar partnership with SpaceX on Tuesday to introduce Starlink in India.

Starlink

Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation, using low Earth orbit to provide broadband internet. By leveraging advanced satellites and user hardware, Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet globally, drawing from extensive experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations.

Unlike traditional satellite internet services, which rely on single geostationary satellites orbiting at 35,786 km, Starlink’s low Earth orbit allows for faster data transmission. Geostationary satellites suffer from high latency, which refers to the round-trip time for data between the user and the satellite.

This high latency makes it difficult to support high-data-rate activities such as streaming, online gaming, and video calls. Starlink’s approach aims to overcome these limitations, enabling seamless connectivity for a variety of data-intensive activities.