Despite India’s large market size, capacity constraints and global costs are expected to dictate Starlink’s pricing strategy for the country, which will be similar to other nations in the subcontinent, official sources said. In India, Starlink kits are expected to cost about ₹33,000, while monthly subscription may remain between ₹3,000 and ₹4,200, in line with prices announced for neighbouring Bangladesh and Bhutan, where services began in May and February, respectively, they said.

The company had announced similar pricing for Sri Lanka, where its application was in advanced stages of regulatory clearance, they pointed out. The monthly plans for India may cost slightly more than those in underdeveloped African economies, such as Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

Starlink’s hardware would be available at these prices through retail outlets of telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Back in April, both had announced separate deals with Starlink to distribute the American firm’s equipment and services in India, for their customers. 

People in the know say the company doesn’t have much to gain by dropping the price to attract more customers as internet capacity from satellites will remain capped. The satellite communication (satcom) giant currently provides services in over 125 countries through a constellation of over 7,600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites operated by SpaceX, the American spacecraft manufacturer and launch service provider owned by Elon Musk. The company plans to deploy up to 12,000 satellites to complete its constellation.