As PM lands in U.S., expected to discuss Musk’s India entry, Starlink steals a march into Bhutan

Starlink makes inroads in South Asia, with Bhutan joining its footprint, as India reviews security concerns.

Even as all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and his key advisors, Elon Musk’s Starlink has stolen a march into South Asia by setting up in neighbouring Bhutan first.

The announcement came as the US satellite-based services company Starlink updated its product availability map on February 12, making Bhutan the 121st country in the world to join its footprint. India has thus far not provided Starlink permissions to operate in India, mainly over security and privacy concerns, as well as pricing issues and concerns from the local telecom and satellite industry.

As PM Modi arrived in Washington for a 24-hour visit, officials said the future of Starlink’s plans for India could come up for discussion. Thus far, telecom officials have said they are reviewing the “security arrangements in place for the ground stations” from which Starlink traffic would flow to users in India, and regulatory processes remain underway.

In 2020, SpaceX, another company also owned by Mr. Musk had signed up to send Bhutan’s first satellite into space orbit as well, launching BHUTAN-1 in June 2018, aboard SpaceX’s CRS-15 mission, four years before ISRO had launched the India-Bhutan SAT in 2022.

While a visit by Mr. Musk to India in April 2024 was expected to help iron out the issues, Mr. Musk cancelled his travel plans to New Delhi abruptly then. In July, Starlink’s director of global licensing Rebecca Hunter met Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in Thimphu, following which official agency GovTech was asked to evaluate the potential impact of introducing Starlink in the country.

“While optical fibres would be the primary medium for global connectivity, with geographical interconnection difficulties and Bhutan being landlocked, it is important for us to have alternative channels and technologies for global connectivity. Starlink opens that possibility to be globally connected and we are excited to have the Starlink connection in Bhutan,” Bhutan’s top tech innovator, Ujjwal Deep Dahal, CEO of Druk Holding and Investments Limited, the Bhutanese Government’s commercial arm told The Hindu in Thimphu.

However, Mr. Dahal, who is also on the board of local telecom major Bhutan Telecom, indicated it would be necessary to ensure Bhutan’s national communications infrastructure remains sustainable.