Elon Musk's Starlink likely to get approval for starting space broadband services in India by next week: Reports

Elon Musk-led Starlink could receive approval to launch its space-based broadband services in India in the "next few days", according to a recent report by ET Telecom. The report notes that the new development comes after Starlink sent a clarification to the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) regarding its shareholding pattern.

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"Starlink replied to the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, and in next few days or by the end of this month, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Starlink," ET Telecom quoted a source as saying.

Meanwhile, a Moneycontrol report, citing sources, noted that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) could issue a letter of intent (LoI) to Starlink as early as Wednesday.

Both the ET Telecom and Moneycontrol reports note that the department is preparing a letter of approval from telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal and communications secretary Ashwini Vaishnaw by next week. Soon after the approval, the Satellite Communications Wing (SCW) will also give a nod to the Elon Musk-led company, the reports added.

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Both the telecom secretary and minister Ashwini Vaishnaw are currently out of the country, with Mittal attending the PanIIT 2024 event in Washington DC and Vaishnaw in Davos for the World Economic Forum.

Starlink's journey in India: 

Elon Musk's Starlink had applied for a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) license in India in November 2022 and it could become the third company in India after Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal's One Web to secure the license. The GMPCS license will enable Starlink to offer messaging services, voice services, and broadband to individuals and organizations in India.

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Besides government approval for the license, Satcom players will also have to gain approval from the space regulator -- Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). As of 2023, IN-SPACe is the single-window agency for space activity approvals in India. The next step would be spectrum allotment by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Notably, the Elon Musk-led company had got a scolding from the Telecom Ministry in late 2021 for taking advance money from subscribers for services when it hadn't even procured the license. The Ministry had asked Starlink to start refunding the money to around 5,000 odd customers who had pre-ordered its services in India.