American satellite broadband companies Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper have signed their first commercial agreements with Indian VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) service providers, marking a key step toward launching enterprise and government-focused satellite broadband services in the country. These partnerships have been formalised even before the official allocation of satellite spectrum, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.
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Hybrid Go-to-Market Strategy in Play
The two low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operators are now preparing to monetise their India capacity through the B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) segments. Simultaneously, they are laying the groundwork to enter the retail broadband space, where pricing models are still under development, according to the report.
Industry sources confirmed that Starlink and Kuiper are actively engaging with VSAT providers such as Hughes Communications, Nelco, and Inmarsat. These collaborations are expected to support a range of high-bandwidth applications, including remote connectivity for banking, oil and gas, warehousing, cellular backhaul, maritime, aviation, and defence infrastructure.
"Both Starlink and Amazon have been working to form partnerships in India. They are already scouting VSAT partners and have secured a few in India, focusing on the B2B and B2G spaces. They want their India capacity to be optimally utilized," a source was quoted as saying.
Both Starlink and Amazon Kuiper aim to operate in both the enterprise and retail segments, directly competing with Eutelsat OneWeb, which will adopt a sell-through model via Indian partners, according to another person familiar with the plans, the report said.
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Collaborations with Indian Telecom Majors
Both players are opting for a hybrid go-to-market strategy in India. They plan to sell services directly while also forging partnerships for distribution. Starlink, for instance, has already announced collaborations with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, leveraging a sell-through model. Kuiper is also expected to adopt a similar approach, targeting India's diverse and emerging connectivity landscape.
"Starlink and Kuiper are going for a hybrid go-to-market model in India. They are going to offer service directly and are also forging partnerships to sell through partners. Starlink, for instance, has already announced a partnership with Reliance Jio and Airtel, which is the sell-through model," the second person reportedly added.
"Starlink will soon begin offering connections directly to consumers via its website. Kuiper is also going to be the same and will not rely on a single master distributor, nor are they going to do it all themselves. India is a beginner market with so much diversity, hence this approach," he added, according to the report.
"Companies and government departments run with less connectivity, but they want retail automation, remote monitoring, and AI operations. Defence is also a huge potential user with higher bandwidth, which can be enabled only by LEO satellite-based broadband connectivity," the second person was quoted as saying.
According to the report, Hughes Communications India's President and Managing Director, Shivaji Chatterjee, separately confirmed that the company is in active discussions with all LEO satellite players and expects to be among their primary partners for B2B and B2G services. "As a key incumbent, we will definitely be one of their main go-to-market partners for the B2B and B2G segments."
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Regulatory Approvals and Spectrum Trials
Starlink has already received a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) license from the Indian government, becoming the third player to secure this regulatory milestone after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite. However, its final authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) is still pending.
A government official indicated the process is at an advanced stage and approval is expected shortly. "They will soon be approved. It is a matter of time now."
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also preparing to issue trial spectrum to Starlink to facilitate security and compliance testing. Meanwhile, Amazon Kuiper is awaiting both GMPCS and IN-SPACe approvals. The company has completed all mandatory security and operational evaluations, and its application is set to be reviewed by an inter-ministerial standing committee in the near future.
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India's Satellite Market
These developments come amid ongoing policy formulation by the DoT, which is expected to soon finalise the rules and pricing framework for administrative allocation of satellite spectrum. This is being guided by recent recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
With these moves, Starlink and Amazon Kuiper are joining Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite in accelerating India's satellite broadband ecosystem, setting the stage for a new era of high-speed, low-latency internet access across the country's most remote and underserved regions.
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