The government of Meghalaya has signed a letter of intent with Starlink India to pilot satellite-based internet across the state’s remote hill regions. The government plans to deploy the technology across education, healthcare, disaster management, and economic development, sectors where poor connectivity has long been a persistent challenge. The state also sees the agreement as a potential model for aspirational district programmes and border security communications.
According to the chief minister of Meghalaya, unreliable connectivity has long held the state back, as its rugged terrain makes conventional telecom infrastructure expensive and often impractical, leaving large parts of the population offline. He said the government hopes that Starlink will address this problem, as its low-earth orbit satellites bypass the need for ground-based towers. The pilot will test whether the technology can reliably deliver high-speed internet across the state before a wider rollout is considered.
However, Starlink currently cannot begin commercial services in India as it has not yet been allocated satellite spectrum. It must also complete security compliance requirements and set up ground infrastructure such as earth stations.
