RailTel Shares In Focus On Reports Of Partnership With Elon Musk's Starlink — Details Inside

Shares of RailTel will be in focus on Wednesday's trading session amid reports of the company being in talks with Starlink.

As Elon Musk's Starlink gears up for India launch, RailTel is one of the Indian companies looking to partner with the satellite internet provider, according to a report from LiveMint.

• 
  Indian Markets Turning Corner After Two Tough Years, Says Sandeep Tandon
• 
  NDTV Profit Ignite 2026: Experts See Opportunity In Equities, Stay Bullish For Long-Term
• 
  Buy Right, Sit Tight Does Not Work for Individual Stocks, Says Dinshaw Irani
• 
  'Worst Is Behind': Quant MF Sees Market Bottom, Flags 'Extreme Euphoria' In Midcaps
• 
  India's Mutual Fund Industry Could Become A $1 Trillion Opportunity, Say Fund Managers
• 
  'Foreign Investors Are Baraatis': Raamdeo Agrawal's Take On LTCG Tax
• 
  Stay Invested Through Market Cycles: Raamdeo Agrawal at NDTV Profit Ignite
• 
  Ramesh Damani Remains Bullish On India For Next 20-30 Years, Sees Bargains Amid Market Weakness
• 
  CAS Came After A Long Consultation Process: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFIT IGNITE
• 
  Aim To Cut FPI Onboarding Time From Mth To Five Days: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFI

It appears RailTel is looking to offer retail broadband services to its users using Starlink's satellite internet services - a partnership that could prove to be a game-changer for the company.

Also Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay

Starlink & RailTel: An Ideal Combination?

RailTel, which is a PSU stock, currently operates one of the largest public WiFi services in the world. It offers free WiFi to over 6,000 railway stations in India and has IP surveillance at over 5,000 stations.

What makes RailTel an ideal partner for Starlink is their reach in rural areas, given that Starlink's India push will broadly focus on last-mile connectivity.

RailTel currently has almost 6 lakh subscribers, with 58% of its customers belonging to rural areas of India. The company also has over 11,000 partners doing on‑ground installation and servicing.

While Starlink uses satellites for internet access, the company still requires gateways or teleport sites across India in order to provide stable connectivity.

That is where RailTel comes into the fray, potentially providing dark fibre or managed capacity to Starlink gateway locations. The company can also offer network operations, monitoring and security (SOC) services.

If the partnership does come into effect, RailTel can realistically expand its current coverage beyond railway network areas and offer connectivity to off‑corridor villages, hilly/forested regions, islands and border areas without waiting for fibre rollout.

Shares of RailTel closed at Rs 331 on Tuesday, falling 1.31%. On a year-to-date basis, the shares of the PSU stock have fallen almost 18%.

Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.