Elon Musk’s Starlink has secured a crucial approval from the Indian government, clearing a significant regulatory hurdle that had stalled its entry for nearly two years. This marks a major milestone for Starlink’s ambitions to bring satellite-based high-speed internet to India.
With this clearance, Starlink becomes the third entity to receive a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) license from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), following OneWeb (Eutelsat) and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm.
Key Points:
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Application Timeline: Starlink applied for its license in 2022 but faced delays over national security and regulatory concerns.
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Spectrum Dispute: A major policy debate arose between Starlink and Jio regarding spectrum allocation.
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Jio advocated for an auction-based model, similar to mobile networks.
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Starlink favored administrative allocation, citing global norms for satellite services.
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India ultimately sided with Starlink, a decision that may influence future satellite policy in the country.
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Impact: The approval opens the door for Starlink to begin service roll-out preparations—particularly in rural and underserved regions, where fiber and traditional telecom infrastructure are sparse.
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a potential competitor, remains in limbo pending its own licensing approval.
While no official announcement has been made by either Starlink or DoT, the move suggests India is opening up more proactively to global satellite internet players, which could drastically improve digital inclusion and reduce the urban-rural connectivity gap.
Starlink's potential entry also adds competitive pressure to domestic and international players in India's fast-growing internet market.
