Elon Musk's Starlink granted licence to operate in India

The Indian government has approved operating rights for Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed the development on the social media platform X.

Scindia also met with SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, stating that their discussions focussed on potential collaborations in satellite communications to support the Digital India initiative.

“Had a productive meeting with Ms. @Gwynne_Shotwell, President & COO of @SpaceX, on India’s next frontier in connectivity. We delved into opportunities for collaboration in satellite communications to power Digital India’s soaring ambitions and empower every citizen across the country,” he wrote.


He continued, “Ms. Shotwell appreciated the license granted to @Starlink, calling it a great start to the journey.”

This development comes days after the company got issued the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

This makes Starlink the third company, after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, to offer commercial satellite internet services in India. Amazon's Kuiper is ready to join the race, too, but is still waiting for approvals.

Starlink recently entered into agreements with Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani, and Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, to introduce its satellite internet services in India. Combined, these two telecom giants control over 70% of the Indian telecommunications market.

Starlink, created by SpaceX (Musk's aerospace company established in 2002) provides high-speed, low-latency broadband via its advanced satellite network. Instead of using far-off geostationary satellites, Starlink operates with the world’s largest network of satellites in Low Earth Orbit or the LEO constellation, positioned roughly 550 kilometres above the planet.