How different are Mukesh Ambani’s Jio, Airtel’s AirFiber from Elon Musk’s Starlink? Things you must know

How different is Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and Airtel's AirFiber broadband from Elon Musk’s Starlink. Here’s the answer.

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service is all set to launch in India as soon as it receives regulatory clearance and spectrum allocation. Starlink’s service will provide wireless internet access to users. However, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Airtel also offer wireless broadband internet services. These companies provide internet access through Jio AirFiber and Airtel Xstream AirFiber.

It is noteworthy that since 2022, Airtel and Jio have witnessed a significant increase in the number of wireless broadband users. Now, the question arises: how do Airtel and Jio’s wireless broadband services differ from Starlink’s satellite internet? Let’s learn more about these three internet services.

Jio and Airtel AirFiber

Jio provides fiber broadband services to its users which are without wires. The company places a small antenna on the user’s root, through which internet connectivity is delivered to an AirFiber box (Wi-Fi router) inside the house.

The antenna in Jio AirFiber picks up 5G signals from the nearest mobile tower and transmits the internet to the Wi-Fi router inside the user’s home.

Airtel Xstream AirFiber also follows the same path as Jio and delivers internet signals from Airtel’s nearby 5G mobile tower. The antenna placed on the user’s roof transmits the network signal to the Wi-Fi router.

Both Airtel and Jio’s broadband work on the same technology in which signals are transmitted from mobile towers on the ground.

Starlink

Elon Musk’s Starlink, on the other hand, works on a completely different and hybrid technology. it sends signals directly from satellites to the antenna installed at the user’s home. This technology doesn’t need any base stations on the ground. The antenna at the user’s home receives signals from SpaceX satellites orbiting Earth and transmits high-speed internet signals to the receiver.

This eliminates dependency on any ground-based stations, promising uninterrupted internet connectivity.

As users receive direct satellite signals, factors like storms, high winds, or rain do not affect the service.

This makes satellite internet a reliable option for emergency connectivity.