Maharashtra government announced on Wednesday that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Elon Musk-led Starlink to deploy a host of satellite-based internet services. The new partnership makes Maharashtra the first state to have a formal tie-up with the US-based satellite internet service provider.
As per a report by PTI, Maharashtra will collaborate with Starlink to deploy the company’s satellite-based internet services for government institutions, rural communities, and critical public infrastructure. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said they would also be implemented across “remote and underserved regions and aspirational districts” like Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Washim, and Dharashiv.
”With @Starlink’s cutting-edge satellite technology, led by @elonmusk and @laurendreyer, Maharashtra takes a bold leap forward in bridging the last digital divide — powering education, healthcare, and connectivity in every corner of our State,” the Maharashtra CMO wrote in a post on X.
”With this landmark decision, Maharashtra will lead India in satellite-enabled digital infrastructure. This is a giant leap towards future-ready Maharashtra,” CM Fadnavis said in another post.
The Maharashtra government noted that the partnership is subject to Starlink receiving regulatory and compliance clearances from the Department of Telecom.
Starlink had earlier conducted demo runs on October 30 and 31 in Mumbai in a bid to show compliance with the security and technical conditions set for satellite broadband services. The demo was conducted in front of law enforcement agencies based on the provisional spectrum assigned to Starlink.
Starlink has plans to establish nine gateway earth stations across top Indian cities like Mumbai, Noida, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Lucknow. The company has reportedly applied for 600 gigabits per second capacity through its Gen 1 satellite constellation.
Starlink Begins Hiring in India
Starlink is said to have chosen Mumbai as its hub of operations and has also selected a 1,294 sq ft office on the ground floor of the Boomerang commercial complex in suburban Chandivali, as per an earlier report by Mint.
The company has also begun hiring in finance and accounting departments for roles such as payments manager, accounting manager, senior treasury analyst, and tax manager, as per the job postings made by it on LinkedIn. All the job postings are based in Bengaluru.
“As the company expands its international footprint and provides Starlink (our revolutionary satellite low-latency broadband internet) across the globe, Starlink Satellite Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX, is seeking an accounting manager based in India to help ensure our financial reporting obligations are met,” the job description by SpaceX read.
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