Elon Musk’s Starlink Reportedly Submits Formal Acceptance of Licence Norms, Could Launch in India Soon

Starlink has formally accepted the security and data storage requirements set by the government of India for all prospective satellite broadband service providers seeking a licence to operate in the country, according to a report. The Elon Musk-led satellite internet firm is looking to launch its services in India, where satellite spectrum is expected to be allocated administratively. It is expected to compete with other service providers that are also gearing up for their debut in India, such as Reliance’s JioSpaceFiber, Airtel, and Amazon Kuiper.

Starlink Reportedly Requests Relaxation of Some Conditions

A Financial Express report citing unnamed sources states that Starlink has submitted its formal acceptance of the conditions set by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) related to local data storage and enabling government data interception — requirements that all service providers must fulfil before they acquire a licence to operate in the country. The government hasn’t sought additional clarifications from the firm, according to the publication.

As per the report, Elon Musk’s satcom firm had asked for certain requirements to be relaxed until its application was approved, but the government had refused to make exceptions for foreign firms. The DoT has yet to grant foreign satellite providers a licence to operate in the country.

Airtel and Reliance’s Jio are expected to be Starlink’s biggest competitors in India, when their respective satellite services are launched in the country. This is expected to take place after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) allocates spectrum to these firms in the coming months.

Starlink previously clashed with Jio over the TRAI’s plan to allocate satellite spectrum administratively. The Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom firm has pushed the regulator to conduct a spectrum auction, which analyst say would deter global satcom providers.

Satellite broadband service providers are expected to begin operations in India in the coming months, once satellite spectrum has been allocated by the TRAI. As of now, Starlink and Amazon Kuiper’s applications to launch services in the country are still under review, while OneWeb and Jio already have a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence.