Vodafone Idea denies news of partnership with Musk's Starlink, company's shares slip five percent

Private sector telecom company Vodafone Idea on Tuesday denied media reports which claimed that the company is in talks with Elon Musk's Starlink. News outlet Businessworld reported on December 29 that the billionaire businessman may discuss Musk's tie-up with Starlink during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on January 10.

The report claimed that Vodafone Idea may bet on a partnership with Starlink as Starlink wants to enter the Indian market. After this, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday sought clarification from the company in this regard.

After this, Vodafone Idea said in its statement, "In this regard, we would like to state that no such discussion is taking place with the named party." "We are not aware of the basis of this news," Vodafone Idea said in a statement. After the company issued clarification in this matter, the shares of Vodafone Idea fell and on Tuesday the company's shares closed at Rs 16.05 with a fall of Rs 0.95 or 5.59%.

It was reported in the Indian media in July 2023 that Starlink had applied to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACE) to obtain approval to set up an earth station. Starlink was forced to refund pre-booking money to consumers in the country in 2022 after DoT asked it to seek regulatory approval before taking any pre-orders for its services.

After this, the company withdrew its promotion for pre-order. An application was then made to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals. Last week's news said that during Musk's visit to Gujarat in January 2024, the company may make public the announcement of setting up a factory in India.