Starlink gets satellite net nod, joining Jio, Bharti

Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said. The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved granting a global mobile personal communication by satellite, or GMPCS licence, to the American satellite internet company.

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"The licence has been approved. We got the go-ahead from the commerce ministry on details they had asked for and they (Starlink) have provided," one of the officials cited above said, asking not to be named.

Once it gets past a couple more hurdles, Starlink will become the third satellite broadband service provider in the country, after Bharti group-backed One Web India, and Reliance-backed Jio Satellite Communications. The services will go live after a few more months, after the government makes changes to the Telecommunications Act 2023.