Shubham Sawarkar
In Oct. 2021, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has planned to operate its Starlink broadband service in India that competes with Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea by offering low latency connectivity across the globe by charging $99/mo. (Rs.₹7,350/mo.) which offers up to 50Mbps to 150Mbps speed that running under the beta test. That update also suggests that Starlink has on waiting for government approval for two lakh active terminals.
Now yesterday’s press release from the Department of Telecommunications, suggests that Elon Musk‘s Starlink internet service has no license to operate in India, regardless of taking pre-bookings from customers.
The statement from the Department of Telecommunications strongly recommends SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service fully comply with government regulations.
The statement said: “Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India has pointed out that ‘Starlink Internet Services’ is not licensed to offer satellite-based internet services in India being advertised to the public.”
They added, “For rendering satellite based services in India, requisite license(s) from Department of Telecommunications, Government of India are required. It is hereby informed to the public at large that the said company has not obtained any license/authorization for rendering satellite based internet services that are being booked on their website. Accordingly, the Government has asked the company to comply with the Indian regulatory framework for rendering the satellite based communication services and refrain from booking/rendering the satellite internet services in India with immediate effect.”
“Given the fact that Starlink is not a licensee, the public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised.”
