How will Musk square the Indian subscriber circle?
May 28, 2025
Starlink subscribers around the world pay anything between $120 (USA), A$139 (Australia), €49 (average in Europe) and Ksh 6500 (in Kenya). But SpaceX has a major dilemma in setting its pricing structure in India. Not only is India a market with plenty of established cellular competition, but also vigorous competition from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and RelianceJio/SES, each of which are well ahead in their own satellite-based plans.
Local reports suggest that Starlink is contemplating a limited data tier with an ultra-low monthly fee of just 800 Rupees (€8.27). India is one of the world’s biggest telco markets and local research suggests that these rivals are targeting the 10 million rural and very much unconnected potential market.
SpaceX’s Starlink will also have to pay a probable 4 per cent levy on its gross revenue to the government. There’s also talk of a spectrum fee being levied.
However, the biggest hurdle might be the cost of the Starlink hardware (send/receive dish and modem). Around the world Starlink charges between $250 and $380 for the kit. That would be an impossible fee for Indian residents. The solution is probably going to be some sort of leasing charge which would amortise the equipment fee over 24 or 36 months, in much the same way that a smartphone is priced.
A clue might be found in India’s next-door neighbour Bangladesh which launched on May 25th, and where the monthly fee is an unashamed $49 per month (or a low data subscription of $35), with new subscribers expected to pay around $390 for the up-front equipment costs.
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