Starlink Nears Approval for Satellite Services in India, Transforming Communication Landscape
Elon Musk’s Starlink is making strides toward obtaining a satellite license to offer voice, messaging, and data communication services in India. The Indian government has expressed approval of Starlink’s responses regarding data storage and transfer regulations.
As reported in the Economic Times, a government official stated, “The responses provided by Starlink to our inquiries seem satisfactory… Once the security check is completed, the company will be granted a license for global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) to provide its services.”
Upon securing the license, Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX owned by Musk, will be poised to provide satellite broadband, voice, and messaging services to individuals and organizations in India.
This marks Starlink’s second attempt to enter the Indian Satellite communication (satcom) market. In 2022, the company applied for a license but encountered challenges related to local data storage regulations. Initially, Starlink asserted its commitment to international standards, but Indian authorities insisted on compliance with local regulations. Now, Starlink has agreed to comply with Indian data storage regulations.
“The company has now agreed to comply,” affirmed a second official in the ET report.
Upon approval, Starlink will join the ranks as the third company to receive a GMPCS license in India, following Bharti Airtel’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satcom arm.
Amazon, under Jeff Bezos’s leadership, has also submitted a license application to the Department of Telecommunications in October, awaiting government consideration.
Companies venturing into the satellite internet services sector in India must secure approval not only from the government but also from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the autonomous space regulator. Following this, they await spectrum allocation by the Department of Telecommunications. Currently, the government is anticipating recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Satcom spectrum allocation, pending the appointment of a new TRAI chairman.
India’s space economy is anticipated to reach $13 billion by 2025, projecting a compound annual growth rate of 6 percent, according to a report by EY-ISpA.