Tech billionaire Elon Musk-owned aerospace company SpaceX is set to a regulatory go-ahead to roll out Starlink space broadband services in India, a report by ET Telecom said on Friday. The report added, citing sources, that Starlink will get a nod in the "next few days", after a clarification by the company to the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) on shareholding pattern.
The Musk-owned company, on one of the pertinent issues of "not offering services to a bordering country," has also agreed with the government authorities, the report added, citing the same source. However, the DPIIT is working on a note for the approval by the telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal and telecom and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw by next week. The Satellite Communications Wing (SCW) is said to issue the approval letter to the satellite Internet company.
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This comes days after the Musk-owned aerospace company announced the launch of 21 new Starlink satellites, including six Direct-To-Cell satellites, which were carried aboard the Falcon 9 spacecraft of the company. The Direct-to-Cell Starlink satellites are equipped with advanced modems functioning as space-based cellphone towers. This innovation holds the potential to eradicate cellphone service dead zones on the ground. Similar to network providers collaborating internationally for global roaming services, there is a possibility for them to partner with Starlink to provide customers with the Direct to Cell service.
Meanwhile, India is set to deploy a communications satellite using SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket, marking its initial collaboration with a venture headed by Musk, who is looking to expand his businesses in the country, news agency Reuters recently reported. Musk-owned SpaceX and ISRO's commercial arm, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), have joined hands for the launch of GSAT-20, a high-capacity communications satellite.
Musk, the mind behind SpaceX and EV maker Tesla, has shown a strong interest in bringing his Starlink satellite broadband service to the Indian market.
SpaceX began satellite launches in November 2019 and opened its $99 per month beta programme for select customers around a year later. Starlink registered its business in India in November 2021 and has been in the process to apply for licenses in the country, as per Sanjay Bhargava, the India director for the company.