In an agreement with SpaceX, Bharti Airtel, the second-biggest telecom provider in India after Reliance Jio, will make the Starling LEO satellite broadband system available to Airtel Africa, which serves 14 African regions.
As a result of the move, many of the 160 million people living in these 14 markets—which include Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania—as well as millions of micro and small companies will have access to broadband through Airtel Africa’s Starlink kits.
How Airtel can help Starlink:
Although Starlink operates in 16 African markets, it encounters legislative obstacles in other African nations. It is anticipated that the partnership with Airtel Africa will resolve any regulatory concerns in the five markets where Starlink is not yet operating.
The agreement for these markets and Airtel Africa’s entire presence is comparable to that in India, where Starlink is getting ready to deliver satellite broadband through Bharti Airtel, the parent company of Airtel Africa, even though it does not yet have a license in that country.
Rural India’s connectivity boost:
Both the Starlink and Bharti Airtel agreements and the Reliance Jio agreement with Starlink were recently finalized in March 2025. The potential for India is enormous, since the Confederation of Indian Industry reports that over 51% of the nation’s 63 million SMEs are situated in rural areas. Even while mobile coverage has increased dramatically nationwide, traditional telcos have had trouble connecting to rural areas.
Given the financial potential for rural regions, the money Starlink saves on terrestrial rollouts, and the lack of a clear competitive conflict with urban areas because of Starlink’s higher upfront equipment and monthly connectivity costs, it is likely that the Indian government will approve Starlink to collaborate with organizations like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.
The two companies’ addressable opportunities in Africa and India are found in establishments like remote Airtel retail stores, current Airtel business customers with rural outposts, health facilities, educational institutions, logistical companies and agricultural workers who require precise supply chain tracking facilities, digital marketing companies, remote tourist hotspots, and others who generally demand a higher level of service quality.
How Starlink benefits?
Before its rivals, whether they be D2C or B2B satellite operators, enter the market, Starlink plans to integrate as much as possible into the Indian and African telecom ecosystems. These include Telesat Lightspeed, which has a collaboration with Orange and Orange Africa; AST SpaceMobile, which is collaborating with Vodafone Group and Vodacom; and Amazon, with its Project Kuiper.
Given that telecoms and satellite manufacturers will be forming several cross-border alliances to increase connectivity, competition is predicted to intensify quickly. As a result, the cost of satellite broadband per megabyte will decrease quickly, which will only help corporate and enterprise clients.
