Starlink and Cisco Partner to Launch Satellite-Ready Wi-Fi Routers for Faster Global Connectivity
Starlink: Cisco satellite-enabled routers, led by Chuck Robbins, support both unicast and multicast traffic and offer two-way satellite communication.
Ankush Pandey
Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, has confirmed that Wi-Fi routers created by Cisco Systems can manage satellite-based traffic after a test program with the networking equipment manufacturer.
The company also plans to collaborate with the US-based Viasat and the UK-based Eutelsat OneWeb on a similar project. After successfully demonstrating and validating its ability to route space-based wireless traffic through terrestrial network operators with Starlink, Cisco Systems is probably going to be collaborating with OneWeb and Viasat, an industry insider told ETTelecom.
After testing with Starlink, a San Jose-based manufacturer of networking equipment has shown that it can integrate with backend satellite providers.
This means that a telecom service provider who want to offer satellite connectivity can access the document and establish an immediate connection.
According to the source familiar with the developments, Cisco and Starlink collaborated closely to integrate telemetry into their system, giving telecom service providers end-to-end insight and enabling them to provide end consumers with a service guarantee.
He stated that Cisco's Wi-Fi routers have been modified and enhanced to allow space-to-earth broadband services, regardless of a carrier, adding that "until now, there was no easy way to trace the traffic and service from a terrestrial network to a non-terrestrial network." Multicast and unicast traffic are supported by Cisco's satellite-enabled routers, which are led by Chuck Robbins and offer two-way satellite communication.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel have teamed up with billionaire Musk's Starlink to provide space broadband services in rural and isolated areas of India.
Earlier this month, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (In-Space) authorised a multinational American satellite operator to offer commercial satellite-based communication services in the nation.
Starlink's monthly membership for Indian customers is probably going to start at ₹3,000 per month with a one-time hardware installation fee of roughly ₹30,000, which includes the cost of a router.
Additionally, a promotional rate for unlimited use at $10 (about ₹850) per month may be offered during Starlink India's debut. Nonetheless, the establishment of secure radio waves and ground infrastructure by India's wireless planning & coordination wing (WPC) would be necessary for SpaceX's connectivity arm.
There is intense competition in the space-to-earth digital connectivity industry, with Jeff Bezos's Amazon's Kuplier Systems also competing for the Indian market. Gigabit fibre internet services were offered by Ambani's Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES in 2022.
Meanwhile, rival Bharti Global invested $1 billion in UK-based OneWeb, which in 2023 combined with French business Eutelsat to become Eutelsat OneWeb.
Better connectivity, bandwidth, and latency are provided to end customers by satellite operators with satellite systems in low-earth orbit (LEO), such as Musk's Starlink.
With a constellation of over 7,800 tiny satellites in low-earth orbit that communicate with their respective ground transceiver stations as of June 2025, Starlink accounts for around 65% of all active satellites globally.
According to industry figures, broadband users are expected to increase from the current 6.2 million to 15.6 million by 2030, and the satellite internet market is predicted to rise by more than 100% to reach $33.44 billion in the following five years as opposed to 14.56 billion in 2025.
