SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company is making progress with its Starlink program, which provides low-cost, reliable internet around the world. Speaking to Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on the People by WTF podcast, Musk highlighted the show’s international footprint. The technology entrepreneur expressed optimism over the expansion of Starlink operations to India, which would be an important step in the company’s goal of connecting underserved regions globally. Musk’s comments hint at a possible expansion of Starlink services into India, a market with high demand for improved connectivity, particularly in rural and underserved areas. “SpaceX is doing a great job with the Starlink program and providing low-cost, reliable Internet around the world, and hopefully India. We would love to work in India. That would be great. We are now operating in 150 different countries, with Starlink,” Musk said. Reliable connectivity Musk emphasized that Starlink aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to areas where traditional networks are unavailable or limited. The program uses thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites to provide worldwide coverage. Low-Earth Orbit and Low Latency Musk explained the technical foundation of Starlink, emphasizing the low-Earth orbit satellites. “They are at an altitude of about 550 km, which is usually in low orbit. Because they are in low orbit, the latency is low.” Interconnected Satellite Network The Tesla CEO described the laser mesh that connects Starlink satellites, ensuring redundancy and reliability. “You have thousands of satellites that provide low-latency, high-speed Internet around the world, and they are also interconnected. There are laser links between the satellites, so they form a laser mesh. If the cables are cut, the satellites can communicate with each other and provide connectivity.” Starlink in disaster relief Musk also emphasized Starlink’s role in emergency response. “Whenever there is a natural disaster somewhere, we always provide people with free Starlink internet connection. We don’t take advantage of a tragic situation,” he said. Serving rural areas The CEO pointed out that Starlink is particularly beneficial in rural areas where traditional networks struggle. “In cities you have these cell towers that are only a kilometer apart. But cell towers tend to be ineffective in the countryside. So, in rural areas you tend to have the worst internet because it’s very expensive and difficult to lay all the fiber optic cables or to have high bandwidth cellular towers. So, Starlink is very complementary to the existing telecommunications companies.” Limitations in densely populated areas Musk acknowledged that physics limits Starlink’s effectiveness in cities with dense local area networks. “Unfortunately, the physics doesn’t allow it. We’re too far. So, at 550 km, even if we try to reduce it, about as low as we can go is about 350 km, which is still very far. So it’s not physically possible for Starlink to serve densely populated cities.”