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Musk vows affordable Starlink in India days before Ambani's record Jio IPO
Oct 11, 202609:55 PM
Reuters - Elon Musk said he would price Starlink's satellite internet service affordably in India to take on Mukesh Ambani's low-cost Reliance Jio, escalating his attacks on the rival billionaire days before Jio's parent launches India's largest-ever IPO.
Jio Platforms, which owns the telecom arm, is targeting a valuation of $106 billion in the offering. Much like SpaceX-owned Starlink, Jio's own satellite venture is also awaiting final security clearance to launch.
Cheap data is the playbook that built Jio in India, and the one Musk has used in markets like Kenya to unsettle local telecom players. SpaceX now plans to enter the mobile carrier market itself, starting in the US.
Musk did not specify prices for India, where mobile data costs about 8 cents per gigabyte, among the lowest in the world.
"Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable," he said in a post on his social media platform X on Saturday.
"The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani's profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business," Musk added.
Cheap data is the playbook that built Jio in India, and the one Musk has used in markets like Kenya to unsettle local telecom players. SpaceX now plans to enter the mobile carrier market itself, starting in the US.
Musk did not specify prices for India, where mobile data costs about 8 cents per gigabyte, among the lowest in the world.
"Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable," he said in a post on his social media platform X on Saturday.
"The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani's profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business," Musk added.
