On 20 May, India’s communications minister said the country would likely witness the fastest satellite communications rollout in the world. It was a strong signal to the bickering parties.

After years of Indian telecommunication companies’ tooth-and-nail opposition, Starlink finally has a Letter of Intent from the government clearing the way for it to beam broadband from space. Unlike in the past, there was no uproar in the media; just a quiet admission of its imminent entry.

Airtel and Reliance Jio chose to get ahead of the story and within 12 hours of each other in March, announced that they had struck a commercial deal with Elon Musk’s satellite internet service. The reason was a “nudge from the Prime Minister’s Office” because the telecom regulator’s recommendations on satellite communication (satcom) were ready and gathering dust for a few months, confirmed industry sources privy to the development.

As always, industry bodies on both sides are splitting hairs over finer details, but “in our heart of hearts we know this is the best we can get given all these years of opposition,” said a satellite industry expert.

The years-long impasse is broken. Stringent conditions for security complianceOutlook BusinessCentre Cracks Whip on Satcom Security, New Mandates for Startlink, Jio and Others have been added but satcom companies are game.

“Apart from Starlink, it seems that the two telcos have also gained from the tie-up with Starlink, if you look at the positive reaction from the equity market and the media,” said a senior executive from the satcom industry. “As Starlink is gaining prominence around the world, the two telcos may have wanted to show that this technology is also part of their offering to consumers.”

The share prices have indeed rallied—12 to 14%, the highest this year—in the seven weeks from 11 March, the day of the deal, and before the telcos’ quarterly results in April–May.

Telcos, meanwhile, believe Starlink got a “valuation bump” from the deal. “It can now claim to have an addressable market of 600 million people,” said a senior executive from one of the two telcos. Its parent company SpaceX was last valued at $350 billionCNBCSpaceX valuation surges to $350 billion as company buys back stock and Starlink is squarely at the centre, estimated to contribute overVia SatelliteQuilty Space Issues Estimate on SpaceX’s Starlink 2024 Revenue Growth 60% to the space giant’s revenues.