New Delhi, August 21: Elon Musk, the world’s richest entrepreneur and head of SpaceX, stated on Friday that the Starlink satellite-based internet service could be extremely beneficial for areas in India with the lowest connectivity, particularly in rural regions. This comes as the company awaits approval to launch its commercial services in India.
Musk shared on the social media platform X, “Starlink will assist those living in India’s least serviced areas, especially in rural regions.”
His comments arrive at a time when, despite the expansion of digital connectivity in India, a significant gap in internet access between rural and urban areas persists.
According to data shared on X, as of May 2026, 11,256 listed villages in the country still lacked fourth-generation mobile service (4G). This indicates that traditional telecommunications infrastructure has yet to fully reach many remote areas.
Data shows that by March 2026, India had a total of 1.093 billion internet subscriptions, with 440.8 million subscriptions originating from rural areas. However, the internet subscription density in rural areas was only 48.31 per 100 people, while urban areas reached 126.80 per 100 people. This highlights the significant disparity in digital access between rural and urban India.
In this context, the post mentioned that over 850,000 kilometers of optical fiber network have been laid under the Indian government’s BharatNet project, with around 221,000 gram panchayats prepared for services. Yet, by June 2026, only 80,472 gram panchayat presence centers were fully operational.
The post further stated that satellite-based internet services could play a crucial role in areas where deploying traditional mobile towers or fiber networks is challenging and costly. This includes remote villages, mountainous regions, island areas, and regions affected by natural disasters.
It was also noted that before Starlink’s services can commence in India, regulatory approvals, spectrum allocation, and other necessary permissions must be completed. The company has been preparing to enter the Indian market for some time.
Starlink, a satellite internet service by SpaceX, provides internet access through thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), aiming to deliver high-speed internet to areas where traditional broadband services are limited or unavailable.
Earlier in August, a government official stated that Musk’s company X must comply with new social media platform regulations, which allow for the rejection of any public government requests to remove content.
Additionally, Musk claimed that after revealing a new algorithm included in X, “any censorship required by governments is now clearly visible.”
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