Elon Musk-led Space X is planning a potential tie-up with Indian firms to locally manufacture satellite communications equipment. The development comes as the space company looks to roll out its high-speed satellite broadband services in India next year., Economic Times reported.
During the company’s first official interaction with DoT secretary Anshu Prakash on Monday, Matt Botwin, director (market access with the Starlink program) said“SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices,”
Botwin said that SpaceX always looks for opportunities to maximise the efficiency of its (global) supply chain, and added that the space company “is now looking forward to working with its partners in India to recognise those opportunities”.
During the meeting, Botwin also spoke about SpaceX’s association with the Indian industrial sector, saying his company has been purchasing steel and steel-tubing for many of its rockets from India, the ET report said.
It is committed to manufacture hardware and satellite components and components of (satellite broadband) networks in the country, he added.
SpaceX, which will compete in the global satcom space with Jeff Bezos-led Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Bharti-backed OneWeb, has started accepting pre-orders for beta version of its Starlink satellite internet service in India for a fully refundable deposit of $99 (above Rs 7,000).
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The areas in India for which pre-booking is available include India Colony Rd, Bapunagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; and Indian Coffee House Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, among others.The company currently promises speeds between 50 and 150 Mbps for the Starlink project that plans to deliver high-speed internet through a network of about 12,000 satellites, IANS reported.
Musk had said last month that internet speed of its Starlink satellite-based internet service, which aims to provide cheaper web for millions in remote areas across the world, will double to 300 Mbps this year.
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