Elon Musk’s Starlink urges Centre to expedite approval for its India operations

The company’s top officials made the request in a recent meeting with the Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. Besides seeking a faster nod to its application, the company discussed its plans to expand operations in the country.

“Met a delegation from Starlink, comprising of Vice President Chad Gibbs & Senior Director, Ryan Goodnight. Discussions covered Starlink’s cutting-edge technology platform, their existing partnerships & future investment plans in India,” Goyal said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Queries emailed to Starlink and the commerce ministry did not elicit any response till press time.

Security review still underway

“The government is still examining Starlink’s application from a security point of view. The company will be able to invest in the country only after approval,” a government official said on the condition of anonymity.

The company’s investments will go largely in setting up earth station gateways in the country. Satellite earth station gateways are ground-based facilities that serve as a vital link between satellites and local networks, and core to internet connectivity.

“As per the plans shared, Starlink is currently looking at setting up three earth station gateways,” another official said.

Starlink had submitted its application to the department of telecommunications (DoT) to get Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence in 2022. The licence is a key requirement to offer satellite-based communication services in the country.

Besides the licence, the company would also require approval from Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) on its constellation of satellites and the capacity it will create to provide services in the country.

According to government officials, Starlink has accepted key norms to get a licence for launching satellite broadband services in the country. These include the security and data storage requirements mandated by the government. However, the government still wants to be sure from a national security perspective before approving the company’s application, the official said.

Data rules, spectrum pricing key

These guidelines require the company to store all user data within the country and ensure it can facilitate data interception by intelligence agencies when needed. This is a prerequisite for obtaining any licences under the DoT.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is also in the process of finalising its recommendations on the pricing of spectrum for satellite services and other terms including the tenure of licence, spectrum usage charges, etc.

Rural opportunity

According to analysts, once Starlink’s application in the country is approved, it would bring fast and reliable internet to the underserved regions. Further, the company would also serve the urban areas with its satellite internet services.

“40% of India population do not have internet access with rural areas making the majority of these cases. This represents a large market opportunity for customer base in rural areas (for Starlink),” analysts at Bernstein, a brokerage, said in a note dated 4 March.

However, the analysts added that “factors such as affordability, competition from established terrestrial providers (like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel), and pricing sensitivity mean that only a fraction of these people are likely to subscribe.”

Pricing gap with local providers

According to estimates by Bernstein, Starlink’s pricing in India is seen significantly higher—around 10 to 14 times more—than that of the country’s leading broadband providers. For a connection offering speeds between 50 and 200 Mbps, users would need to pay an upfront fee of ₹52,242, with a monthly subscription of ₹10,469. When taxes and other charges are included, the total annual cost comes to approximately ₹2.16 lakh for Starlink.

In comparison, similar-speed fibre broadband plans from Airtel and Jio are available for just ₹11,000 to ₹15,000 per year, Bernstein said.

Currently, Jio Platforms and Bharti Enterprises-led Eutelsat OneWeb have obtained the necessary approvals to provide satellite broadband internet in the country.

Last month, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio—India’s two largest telecom service providers—entered into a pact with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services to its customers in India. 

The telecom operators, which once opposed the entry of such players to avoid competition, will explore offering Starlink equipment in their retail stores, services to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres.

Starlink operates the world’s largest satellite constellation, with over 6,750 satellites currently in orbit, serving millions of active customers around the globe with high-speed, low-latency internet, according to the details available on its website.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}