Meghalaya government signs Letter of Intent with Starlink India for satellite-based internet pilot in remote hill regions.

Key facts

• The Meghalaya government and Starlink India signed a Letter of Intent on Wednesday to pilot satellite-based internet in remote hill regions.
• The pilot will cover education, healthcare, disaster management, and economic development sectors affected by poor connectivity.
• Starlink cannot start commercial services in India as it has not been allocated satellite spectrum and must complete security compliance and set up ground infrastructure like earth stations.
• Chief Minister Conrad Sangma stated that Meghalaya’s rugged terrain makes conventional telecom infrastructure expensive and impractical, leaving large population pockets offline.
• SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell attended the signing and described Meghalaya’s technology adoption efforts as encouraging.
• The agreement was signed by Additional Chief Secretary Sampath Kumar; no financial terms were disclosed.