Elon Musk's Starlink Internet To Face Tough Time In India Due To Cheap Mobile Data

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Even though mobile data rates are 65 percent cheaper in the country, both OneWeb and SpaceX Technologies are planning to enter the internet segment. Besides, the data consumption has been increased to 12GB per month per user. This means there are chances that these companies are likely to face a hard time attracting customers.

 
Starlink Internet To Face Tough Time In India Due To Cheap Data

In addition, it is expected that the services of Satellite broadband might be expensive than other broadband and mobile internet plans. "The world's lowest telco average revenue per user (ARPU) at $2 (Rs. 150 approx) and the lowest mobile data rates at $0.1 per GB in India vs $1.4-$8 in the UK/US will make it a challenge for operators of global satellite constellations to target incremental broadband subscribers in the country," brokerage firm CLSA said.

 

Other Challenges For Satellite Internet Players

Apart from pricing, analysts believe that Satellite internet companies might face regulatory, licensing issues which might delay the launch of the services. Besides, telecom analysts at BNP Paribas said that the Satellite services won't create a problem for the telecom operators for some time.

"Mobile broadband in India is the cheapest worldwide, and it's widely available even in rural markets, and areas that don't have 4G coverage could have affordability and distribution reach issues, which severely limits the scope of satellite broadband," KunalVora, senior telecom analyst at BNP Paribas was quoted by ET.

He said that Satellite internet services are not going to affect broadband players, such as JioFibre, Airtel Xstream, Bharat Fibre, ACT Fibernet, and more. Vora added that users who are opting for broadband connections are using 200GB data month at affordable prices.

On the other hand, CLSA said that Satellite internet services might be deployed in smart factories, machine-to-machine opportunities, IoT devices, and more. Furthermore, TRAI has issued a consultation paper for the same sector, where the regulator wants to know about the services and plans to make them affordable to users. For the unaware, OneWeb and SpaceX Technologies are planning to launch their services in the second half of this year. In fact, SpaceX Technologies have already started pre-registration services in the country for Rs. 7,300.

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