Ambani had previously raised concerns about Elon Musk's Starlink's entry into India. | Image: Reuters Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms has announced it has entered an agreement with Elon Musk-led SpaceX to offer Starlink services in India. The announcement comes hours after Jio’s rival Airtel became the first telecom company to forge a deal with SpaceX, which has long waited to enter India. Jio Platform’s partnership with SpaceX, however, slightly differs from Airtel’s, allowing for installation, activation, and maintenance of service through a “mechanism” alongside sales of Starlink gear from its retail outlets and online stores. On the other hand, Airtel said it has secured the rights just to sell Starlink equipment through its retail stores as and when SpaceX receives regulatory authorisations for commercial use. “By integrating Starlink into Jio’s broadband ecosystem, we are expanding our reach and enhancing the reliability and accessibility of high-speed broadband in this AI-driven era, empowering communities and businesses across the country," said Mathew Oommen, Group CEO of Reliance Jio. “We are looking forward to working with Jio and receiving authorization from the Government of India to provide more people, organizations and businesses with access to Starlink’s high-speed internet services,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX. SpaceX's partnerships with Jio Platforms and Airtel allow it to gain access to India's internet market, which has long waited to enter but struggled to make inroads due to regulatory curbs. Starlink also faced challenges from Jio and Airtel, urging the government to auction the satellite spectrum like the cellular spectrum. Musk, however, opposed the demands, saying the Indian government should follow the global practice of allocating spectrum, instead of auctioning it. The government has sided with Musk, saying it will follow the universal standards to allocate spectrum. Reliance Jio and Airtel — India's largest and second-largest wireless carriers — already have their satellite communication services in place, but awaiting a regulatory nod for the rollout. While Airtel has invested in Eutelsat OneWeb to use its low-orbit satellites, Reliance Jio announced a joint venture with Luxembourg-based SES in 2022 to launch Jio SpaceFiber in October 2023. While both companies have not said how they will provide satellite internet services, their partnerships alleviated the fear of losing to Starlink that the Indian government's decision stoked last year.