Elon Musk’s Starlink could soon receive approval from the telecom ministry to initiate its services in India, potentially resolving a prolonged security-related standoff with the home ministry.
Scheduled later this month, the ministry is anticipated to convene a meeting to deliberate on Starlink’s application for a global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) services license, with indications suggesting a favorable outcome, as reported by an anonymous source. However, the possibility of last-minute hurdles remains.
Following the acquisition of the GMPCS license, Starlink would need to secure approvals from various government bodies, including the space ministry, to proceed with the launch of its operations in the country.
As of the present, GMPCS licenses in India are held by Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and OneWeb, which is backed by Sunil Mittal. Jio has forged a partnership with Luxembourg-based SES for its endeavor. Notably, Jeff Bezos also has a comparable project named “Kuiper,” but its introduction to the Indian market is still pending.
Starlink faced a reprimand from the telecom ministry in 2021 for accepting advance orders for its devices in India without obtaining the necessary license. Over 5,000 subscribers had placed pre-orders, each costing approximately $99.
