Elon Musk brings Starlink internet services to THIS South Asian country

In a remarkable breakthrough, Starlink, a project of the tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, has added Sri Lanka to its rapidly growing constellation of connected nations, marking the satellite internet operator’s first commercial footprint on the island.

“Starlink now available in Sri Lanka!” SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter), confirming that regulators had cleared the service for immediate activation.

The rollout cements a busy quarter for the low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband network in South Asia.

Just four weeks ago, Starlink went live in neighbouring Bangladesh, and in March, Pakistan’s telecom authorities granted the company a provisional No Objection Certificate (NOC), paving the way for a full commercial licence once technical checks are complete.

Meanwhile, in India, telecom heavyweights Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have both signed preliminary agreements with SpaceX to distribute Starlink capacity once national approvals are finalised.

Starlink operates more than 6,000 LEO satellites that beam high speed, low latency internet to user terminals the size of a pizza box.

For those unversed, Sri Lankan officials have promoted satellite connectivity as a tool for boosting digital inclusion across the island’s mountainous interior and hard to wire coastal villages.

Local ISPs are expected to bundle Starlink dishes with existing mobile and fixed line plans, although pricing details have yet to be announced.