Elon Musk's Starlink to store Indian data locally: Govt
Starlink's India operations will store network data and traffic locally, ensuring domestic user traffic isn't mirrored on foreign servers, according to Minister Pemmasani. Having secured necessary clearances, Starlink, along with Eutelsat OneWeb a...
By ET Bureau |
The network data, traffic and other details accumulated by Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service from its operations in India will be locally stored, minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said in Parliament on Thursday.
Domestic user traffic will also not be mirrored to any system or server located abroad, Pemmasani said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
"Security conditions, inter-alia, include the establishment of earth station gateway(s) in India for providing satellite-based communication services with no user traffic originating from or destined for India to be routed through any gateway located outside India, no copying and decryption of the Indian data outside the country, and the Indian user traffic is not to be mirrored to any system/server located abroad," Pemmasani said.
US-based Starlink is the third satcom operator after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio-SES JV to secure all clearances for offering commercial broadband from space services in India, a market expected to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Starlink received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit last month.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) authorised Starlink's Gen 1 constellation to provide satellite communication services in India. Gen 1 is Starlink's low-earth orbit (LEO) network of 4,408 satellites, which can offer 600 Gbps throughput in India.
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The minister, meanwhile, said the satcom sector is expected to generate employment as it is an emerging area.
"Satellite-based communication services is an upcoming area and, as any new economic activity would do, it is also expected to generate employment in the country, as it involves, inter alia, the installation, operation and maintenance of the telecom network including user terminal equipment," Pemmasani said in his reply.
Starlink now needs to acquire spectrum from the government and establish ground infrastructure for its services.
Two other global satcom majors-Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper and Apple's satcom partner Globalstar-are also awaiting approvals from Indian authorities.
