Musk's Starlink gets license for satcom services in India

Starlink is now the third company to get a license to offer satellite internet in India

- Jatin Grover

After a three-year wait, Elon Musk-owned Starlink has finally received the green light to launch its satellite internet services in India — a move that could bring connectivity to rural areas where physical infrastructure remains poor.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) granted the company the critical Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) license on Friday, marking a major milestone in its entry into the Indian market.

With this, Starlink becomes the latest entrant in India's satellite internet space after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite. Notably, the license for Starlink came within a month of the company securing a letter of intent (LoI) from the telecom department to start its services in the country.

To be sure, Starlink still needs approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) for its constellation of satellites and the capacity it plans to deploy.