Recently, the curiosity around Starlink’s launch in India surged when its website briefly displayed something that looked like official subscription plans and prices.
Many visitors saw a “Residential” plan listed at Rs. 8,600 per month, plus a one-time hardware kit cost of Rs. 34,000 mimicking the familiar global offering of the satellite Internet provider. Moreover the features listed included unlimited data, nearly 99.9% uptime, simple installation, and weather-resistant connectivity.
Obviously, this generated headlines and excitement especially among those in remote or rural areas where high-speed internet is not easily accessible to people.
What Starlink Says: It Was Just a Glitch?
Almost immediately, after prices of plans were disclosed Starlink clarified that the pricing wasn’t real. According to the company’s business-operations spokesperson, the site was never officially live. The numbers shown were simply “dummy test data” accidentally made visible due to a configuration error. The company also stressed that orders were not open and no official offers had been made yet.
In simple words these website prices were not meant for the public to see and they were definitely, not actual plans.
Why the Mix-up Matters?
The moment those prices went live, they got shared far and wide across social media and tech forums. People took screenshots, speculated about the costs, and many began comparing them with existing broadband or mobile-data packages in India.
For a country where many users pay modest fees for fibre or 5G internet, a monthly cost of Rs. 8,600 plus hardware outlay looks steep. Had those been real rates, Starlink would have been positioned as a premium potentially niche service, rather than a mass-market broadband solution.
Elon Musk on Starlink in India:
Responding to a post by Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, Elon Musk wrote, “Looking forward to serving India with Starlink!”
Recently, Scindia met the Vice President of Starlink’s Business Operations (SpaceX) along with senior company leaders. In a post on X, he said their discussion focused on “advancing satellite-based last-mile access across India.”
The minister also emphasized the importance of satellite technology in extending connectivity to the country’s most remote regions.
Starlink Internet:
Starlink users generally see download speeds ranging from 45 to 280 Mbps, with most achieving over 100 Mbps. Upload speeds typically fall between 10 and 30 Mbps. Latency remains around 25 to 60 ms on land, rising above 100 ms in remote regions such as oceans, islands, Antarctica, Alaska, and Northern Canada. These performance levels make Starlink suitable for streaming, video conferencing, online gaming, and most everyday internet needs.
