Elon Musk’s Starlink Gets Green Signal From Telecom Ministry - Report

Elon Musk's Starlink has received a pertinent licence Department of Telecommunications according to sources that knowledge of the matter told Reuters on June 6, clearing a major hurdle for the satellite provider and taking it closer to launching commercial operations in India.

This comes the Elon Musk led entity fulfilled all security compliance requirements outlined in its letter of intent (LoI), according to sources that spoke withh Reuters.

Starlink is the third company to get a licence from India's Department of Telecommunications, which has approved similar applications by Eutelsat's OneWeb and Reliance Jio to provide services in the country.

On Thursday, Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed this during a press interaction. “In the coming days, the third license will be provided,” he said, referring to Starlink.

After the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license, SpaceX will need to secure approval from the space regulator, In-SPACe, fto authorise Starlink’s services. The satcom player’s application at In-SPACe is currently in its final leg, and approval from the inter-ministerial standing committee (IMC) will follow once it secures the GMPCS license.

This integral move proliferates the launch of Starlink’s high-speed satellite broadband services in India. Following the In-SPACe clearance, the company will receive a provisional spectrum allocation.

Highlighting how far the telecom ecosystem has come, “Earlier, there was only a fixed line. Today, there is mobile connectivity and broadband connectivity. Optical fibre connectivity has also come in. Along with these, satellite connectivity is also very important.”

Scindia also pointed out the critical role satellite services will play in boosting internet access in remote areas, “Internet penetration can only be increased through satellite communication services, especially in remote areas where laying wires and installing towers would be difficult.”

Meanwhile, after initially opposing the administrative allocation of spectrum to Starlink, both Jio and Airtel have now entered partnerships with the American satellite company to expand their connectivity offerings.