Elon Musk pitches Starlink for rural India, says it can help ‘least served’ communities

NEW DELHI: Elon Musk has pitched Starlink’s satellite internet service for India, saying it could help provide internet access to the “least served” communities, particularly in rural areas.

“Starlink would help the least served in India, especially in rural areas,” Musk said on Friday on X resharing a post by DogeDesigner which said over 11,000 of India’s listed villages have no access to 4G as of May.

According to the post, India had 1.093 billion internet subscriptions as of March 2026, of which 440.87 million were in rural areas. Rural internet density stood at 48.31 subscriptions per 100 people, compared with 126.80 in urban areas.

Starlink would help the least served in India, especially in rural areas https://t.co/ffCvpL61WQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 21, 2026

The post also noted that BharatNet has laid over 850,000 route-km of fibre and made around 221,000 Gram Panchayats service-ready, while Points of Presence were operational in only 80,472 GPs as of June 2026.

It said Starlink could help address connectivity gaps caused by difficult terrain, low commercial viability and infrastructure constraints by reaching remote villages, mountainous regions, islands and disaster-hit areas. Direct-to-device connectivity could further help keep mobile phones connected beyond conventional tower coverage.

“The Indian government should complete the remaining clearances, allocate spectrum and clear Starlink for commercial launch ASAP. India has already waited far too long,” it noted.

The company is seeking to launch satellite broadband services in India as the government works on the regulatory framework for satellite spectrum allocation and services.

In a separate development, Starlink Business Operations Vice President Lauren Dreyer confirmed that the company is in active talks with the Indian government to launch its commercial satellite internet services.

The clarification came after media reports claimed that India had frozen the approval process over geopolitical and security concerns, including concerns reportedly linked to the use of Starlink terminals during the Iran conflict.

As per the media report, objections from security agencies stemmed from fears over controlling a United States-based operator during periods of geopolitical tension. Dreyer pushed back against these claims publicly stating: “Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources.” (ANI)