Elon Musk’s Starlink has been granted a key licencee from the Departmemnt of Telecommunications, reports said on Friday, in a boost to the satellite company’s dreams to capture the market.
Starlink’s receipt of approval from the telecom ministry brings it closer to start commercial operations in India with a target to reach 900 million internet users of the country, Reuters and Bloomberg reported on Friday.
DoT sources also confirmed to PTI that Starlink has indeed received licence, and said they will be granted trial spectrum in 15-20 days of applying for it.
Starlink and the Department of Telecommunications did not immediately make the news official. This article will be updated once there is an official notification.
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.
Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licences to operate commercially in India but delays have occurred due to reasons including national security concerns. Amazon’s Kuiper is still waiting for its India licence.
In recent months, Musk’s company has also clashed with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s entity Jio over how the country should grant spectrum for satellite services. India’s government has sided with Musk that spectrum should be assigned and not auctioned.
