New Delhi, 6 June (IANS). Starlink, a satellite internet services company led by Allen Musk, has been licensed to start commercial services in India. The company can start commercial operations in the country at the last or start of the next year.
According to information received from sources, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) has issued a Global Mobile Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit to the American company.
Trial spectrum will also be released to Starlink in the coming days, as the company has met all the security compliance requirements of the letter of intent (LOI).
Starlink is now the third SASCOM company to receive GMPCS permits after YouTelsat’s OneWeb and Jio-SES to provide satellite internet services services in the country.
Starlink now requires approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-Space) and the company has submitted the necessary documents for this even before the satellite-based internet service spectrum is allocated.
The initial approval was given by the DOT after Starlinks agreed to follow the new national security guidelines for SATCOM operators.
In April, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with the top officials of the Starlink to discuss the company’s investment plans in the country.
After the meeting, Goyal posted on X, “met a delegation of Starlink, including Vice President Chad Gibbs and Senior Director Ryan Gudnight. The meeting discussed Starlink’s state -of -the -art technology platform, his current partnerships and future investment plans in India.”
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has also said that India especially needs satellite internet in rural areas.
Starlink is a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Starlink provides satellite internet service all over the world. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk may come to India later this year.
-IANS
ABS/
