Elon Musk's Starlink takes another step for India foray

Starlink has applied to the Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to get clearances for setting up earth stations, marking another step for the Elon Musk-owned company’s foray into India where it will be pitted against the likes of Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Amazon and Reliance Jio’s satcom arm.

The US company had earlier applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for getting a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence. Officials aware of the details told ET that a security check from the ministry of home affairs is underway for Starlink’s GMPCS licence, which is likely to be granted in a couple of months.

“They (Starlink) have (also) applied to IN-SPACe. The GMPCS application is under process,” a government official told ET.


ET’s emailed query to SpaceX regarding its application remained unanswered until press time.

Foreign entities are now being allowed to set up infrastructure and offer satellite services in India. But they need to seek approval from IN-SPACe. India’s new Space Policy 2023 has empowered IN-SPACe—an autonomous central regulatory body—to act as the sole single-window agency to authorise the gamut of space activities by both government and private satcom players.

Once Starlink, which is a subsidiary of SpaceX, gets the approvals, it has to wait for spectrum allocation from DoT. Its main rival, Oneweb, has already secured all the approvals but is waiting for spectrum. Reliance Jio’s satellite arm has also received the GMPCS licence from DoT.

SpaceX has had a faltering start in India. Last year, it was forced to return pre-booking money to consumers in the country after the DoT asked it to first seek regulatory approvals before taking any pre-orders for its services. The company then withdrew its communication for pre-orders and has since been applied to get the requisite regulatory approvals.

Competition has intensified in India’s relatively nascent broadband-from-space services segment with firms trying to launch services fast and get first mover’s advantage. The satellite communications market in India is at a nascent stage but the potential is huge, particularly in rural and remote areas. As per an EY-ISpA report, India's space economy is set to rise to $13 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6%.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper too had evinced an interest to serve the world’s second-largest telecom market with fast broadband services using satellites.

Amazon though is yet to apply for regulatory approvals but is participating in the consultation process being undertaken by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on finalising the allocation methodology for satellite spectrum. The regulator is expected to give its proposals to DoT by August.

Satcom firms such as Starlink, OneWeb and Amazon want spectrum to be allotted without auctions but are pitted against telcos Jio and Vodafone Idea who want it to be allotted to the highest bidder. Telco peer Bharti Airtel though doesn’t want auctions, but its reasons are different from satcom companies.

The satcom industry has highlighted that auctioning spectrum would make broadband-from-space services unaffordable and deprive consumers, like those in rural and remote areas, of accessing high-speed connectivity. Industry experts also warned that any move to auction satellite spectrum could undermine the growth potential of the space sector and affect potential foreign direct investment (FDI) in the satellite broadband space.

Trai also believes that if an auction model does not hurt the satellite industry, then it may suggest that satcom spectrum be sold to the highest bidder. But it will not recommend an auction if it concludes that it would hurt the satellite and broadcasting industries.