The Telangana government has reached out to Elon Musk-owned Starlink, inviting it to consider setting up an engineering global capability centre (GCC) in Hyderabad.
A senior government source told BusinessLine that the state encouraged the company to explore Hyderabad as a base for its global engineering and technology operations, noting that Hyderabad has firmly established itself as a preferred destination for multinational GCC investments.
Confirming the development, a senior state government official told AIM that Telangana is proactively engaging with a wide range of global companies as part of its broader push to attract GCC investments.
However, with affordable 5G now widely available across the state, the source observed that there may not be significant demand for premium-priced satellite connectivity among consumers. He noted that satellite-based services could be more relevant for specific institutional use cases, such as banking and enterprise operations, rather than mass-market adoption.
The state government has maintained that its primary engagement with the US company is focused on GCC investment.
Telangana is also engaging with US telecom major T-Mobile to explore the possibility of establishing a GCC in Hyderabad, the source further said.
Sources previously told AIM that Telangana has attracted over 75 greenfield GCCs in 2025, compared to 40+ in Karnataka. This signals a notable shift, with Telangana overtaking Karnataka as the leading destination for new GCC establishments in India.
Meanwhile, Starlink plans to lower the operating altitude of its entire satellite constellation beginning in 2026, as part of an effort to reduce congestion and safety risks in Earth’s orbit.
Satellites currently operating at about 550 km will be gradually moved down to around 480 km, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink engineering, posted on X. He said lower orbits help minimise long-term debris risks and the chances of collisions as satellite launches increase globally.
The move follows a rare in-orbit incident disclosed by Starlink in December, when a satellite experienced an anomaly at an altitude of roughly 418 km, lost communication, and generated a small amount of debris. While such failures are uncommon, the incident has heightened scrutiny around how large satellite constellations are managed responsibly.
Starlink’s decision to lower the operating orbit of its satellite constellation has sparked discussion on online forums, including Reddit, with many questioning whether space safety is the only motivation behind the move.
Several commenters argued that the move closely aligns with Starlink’s ambitions to offer satellite-to-cell connectivity.
Lowering orbit helps with basic services such as texting and light data use, especially in remote areas, as it reduces signal delay and power consumption. However, external analysis suggests it cannot replace terrestrial mobile infrastructure. Voice calls and dense urban usage remain constrained by physics, shared capacity, and regulatory limits.
