Overview
- The state signed a Letter of Intent with Starlink in Mumbai, with Starlink vice president Lauren Dreyer and IT secretary Virendra Singh formalizing the pact in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
- Initial deployment targets government institutions and public infrastructure in priority districts Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Dharashiv and Washim, including tribal schools, primary health centres, disaster control rooms and coastal and forest outposts.
- A joint working group will run a 90-day pilot with milestones at 30, 60 and 90 days, followed by quarterly reviews chaired by the Chief Minister.
- Service rollout remains subject to central regulatory clearances from the Department of Telecommunications, with reports noting Starlink holds a GMPCS licence while spectrum allocation and other approvals are still pending.
- Starlink is preparing India operations through hiring, a new Mumbai office and construction of multiple gateway/earth stations reported in cities such as Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Lucknow, with some outlets citing an early-2026 commercial launch timeline as an expectation.