New Delhi: Sanjay Bhargava, the country director for billionaire Elon Musk-backed satellite internet service Starlink in India, on Monday announced he has quit his post at the company. This coincides with Starlink's announcement that it will refund pre-orders for its devices in India until the company receives a license to operate in the country.
"I have stepped down as Country Director and Chairman of the Board of Starlink India for personal reasons. My last working day was December 31, 2021. I will have no comments for individuals and media so please respect my privacy," Bhargava wrote on his LinkedIn page.
Earlier, Bhargava had said that Starlink's target is to have 200,000 terminals across India by December 2022. Bhargava, an IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Bombay alumni had joined Musk's Starlink in October last year.
Starlink, a part of billionaire Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company, has received over 5,000 pre-orders for its devices in India. However, it is still waiting for commercial licences, without which it will be unable to provide any services.
Starlink is among the growing numbers of firms launching small satellites as part of a low-Earth orbit network to deliver low-latency broadband internet services around the world, focusing on distant locations where terrestrial internet infrastructure lags.
However, the government has warned consumers against subscribing to Starlink without first obtaining a license and has also issued a warning to the firm, ordering it to stop collecting bookings and providing services.
“The Starlink team is looking forward to making Starlink available in India as soon as possible,” it said.
Earlier in November, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) took to Twitter and asked citizens not to subscribe to Starlink services: “It is noticed that M/s Starlink has started pre-selling/booking of satellite-based Internet Services in India without any license/authorization. Public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised”.
Days after the DoT notice, Musk's Starlink stopped the pre-booking of the internet service on its official website. Now, if a user tries to register, the message on the website reads: “Starlink is not yet available in your area but as we launch more satellites, we continue to expand our coverage area. Please check back for future availability in your area.”