Musk Starlink may soon get approval from the Indian government

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New Delhi. The tech billionaire’s satellite-based internet service Starlink has reportedly received provisional approval from the communications ministry ahead of Elon Musk’s visit to India. According to reports, the approval process is currently on the desk of Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and final approval is awaited from the Home Ministry on some security issues.

The report also mentioned that the commercial part has been examined on issues such as foreign investment and net worth and technical requirements as per the licensing conditions.

Once Starlink receives approval from Vaishnav, it will be issued a Global Mobile Personal Communication License by Satellite (GMPCS) services, which is required to provide satellite communication services in the country.

Musk had earlier also tried to launch his satellite internet service in India. The latest attempt was made in November 2022, when Starlink applied for a GMPCS license. However, planned satellite communications service trials in the country were canceled due to disagreements with the government over pre-orders without proper licenses.

The government had passed the Telecom Bill 2023 in December last year, which allows spectrum allocation for satellite-based services without the need to participate in auctions. The move favors companies like OneWeb, Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper.

Last week, the CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX confirmed their visit to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is expected to make several big announcements during his visit to India, including the launch of Starlink and investment of between $2 to 3 billion in the country.

–IANS

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