Elon Musk’s Starlink has received a crucial licence from India’s telecom ministry, paving the way for its satellite internet services in the country. This makes Starlink the third major player after OneWeb and Reliance Jio to receive such a licence. Communication Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia indicated that spectrum allocation would follow, describing SpaceX as ‘the new flower in the bucket’. The move is expected to revolutionise internet access in remote areas and introduce competitive pricing in the market.
Starlink is the third company after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to get a licence from the Department of Telecommunications to provide satellite internet services in the country.
A fourth applicant, Amazon’s Kuiper is still waiting for approvals.
DoT sources confirmed on Friday that Starlink has indeed received the licence, and said the company will be granted trial spectrum in 15-20 days of applying for it.
Starlink will now have to comply with the security norms such as providing access for lawful interception, before starting services.
The licence came hours after a huge public spat between Musk and US President Donald Trump. The falling-out between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful person began when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
