The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) granted the company the critical Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) licence on Friday, marking a major milestone in its entry into the Indian market.
With this, Starlink becomes the latest entrant in India’s satellite internet space after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite. Notably, the licence for Startlink came within a month of the company securing a letter of intent (LoI) from the telecom department to start its services in the country.
Also read: Elon Musk vs Donald Trump: POTUS to sell his ‘beautiful’ red Tesla amid spat with ex-DOGE chief – Report
To be sure, Starlink still needs approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) for its constellation of satellites and the capacity it plans to deploy.
The GMPCS licence allows companies to offer voice and data services through satellite. The licence is issued for a period of 20 years and allows companies to offer satellite communication services in licenced service areas. In addition to the GMPCS licence, Starlink has also received internet services provider (ISP) and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) licences from the government.
Mint was the first to report on 7 May that Starlink had got the letter of intent after agreeing to comply with licensing conditions critical to national security.
“The company will be given the trial spectrum in the next few days to test its services and show compliance with the security norms,” a government official said.
The government has given allotted provision spectrum to OneWeb and Jio as well to comply with the security norms including lawful interception, network control and monitoring, geo-fencing of services and data localization. Compliance with conditions is essential for companies before starting satellite internet services commercially.
Also read: Elon Musk vs Donald Trump feud: What’s at stake here as Tesla boss takes on POTUS in this ‘big, beautiful’ fight?
The licence comes as India looks to close a bilateral trade deal with the US to avoid a potential 26% reciprocal tariff before a 9 July deadline. Notably, Musk on 29 May announced his exit from the US president Donald Trump’s administration and stepped down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Starlink had applied for a GMPCS licence in 2022, a key regulatory requirement for satellite-based communications in India. The company had started taking bookings for its satellite-based services from Indian customers in 2021, without even getting the licence. The company was then directed by the government to call off such bookings as these could not be done without a licence. In compliance with the DoT order, the company returned the booking amounts to over 5,000 pre-booked customers.
Besides In-SPACe approval, Starlink’s launch of satellite services in the country is also pending on the government’s allocation of spectrum via non-auction route. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended administrative allocation of spectrum, as opposed to auctions, for satellite internet services. It said satcom companies will have to pay annual spectrum charges of either 4% of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) or ₹3,500 per MHz, whichever is higher.
The recommendations are pending with DoT and the government is expected to notify the terms and pricing for spectrum allotment soon.
Satcom operators will also have to pay an annual licence fee of 8% of AGR to the government as per current authorization terms of the DoT. This is similar to what telecom operators pay, which includes a 5% licence fee and 3% towards the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
Also read: Elon Musk vs Donald Trump: Tesla boss’ alleged baby mama Ashley St Claire joins debate; offers POTUS ‘breakup advice
Additionally, Trai has recommended an annual charge of ₹500 per subscriber for satellite service providers in urban areas.
Starlink will now need to set up earth station gateways–ground-based facilities that connect satellites to local networks, a critical component for internet connectivity.
In a letter dated 29 May to telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), alleged that the pricing for satellite spectrum recommended by the telecom regulator is non-transparent, unjustified, and does not lead to a level-playing field between telecom and satellite internet operators.
Trai, however, had said that satellite services will be complementary and not be competing with terrestrial services. “Since satellite spectrum is a shared pool, the two (terrestrial and satellite) cannot be priced at par,” Trai chairman Anil Lahoti said in a press briefing on 9 May.
Lahoti added that Trai has recommended assigning spectrum for five years as satcoms are currently in a nascent stage, and their business potential would emerge after some years of operations.
Besides Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper is also in the fray to enter the country and is awaiting a nod from the government on its application.
Analysts said Starlink’s entry could help bridge the digital divide, particularly in rural areas where internet access remains limited. “Forty percent of India’s population does not have internet access, with rural areas comprising the majority of these cases. This represents a large market opportunity for Starlink,” brokerage Bernstein had noted in a report dated 4 March.
“The entry of Starlink into the Indian market along with other major players such as OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications is a significant milestone for the telecom sector in India. It will be interesting to witness these key players roll out satellite-based services and its impact, specially in underserved and rural areas, where traditional terrestrial infrastructure has struggled to reach,” said Harsh Walia, Partner at Khaitan & Co.