Elon Musk-owned Starlink has received a licence for satellite communication (satcom) services in India, the news agency PTI has reported, citing sources. This makes Starlink the third company to secure this licence from the Department of Telecom (DoT), after Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
According to the report, DoT sources confirmed that Starlink has received the licence and stated that they will be granted trial spectrum within 15-20 days.
The Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence has been approved after the company fulfilled all security compliance requirements outlined in its letter of intent (LoI).
Last month, the government had issued a letter of intent (LoI) to Starlink.
Before launching its services, Starlink still needs approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and must be allocated spectrum by the government.
Starlink, which had been vying for a India license for some time now, has signed pacts with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, which together control more than 70 per cent of the country’s telecom market, to bring the US satellite internet giant’s services to India.
Starlink, the satellite internet arm of Elon Musk-led SpaceX, is known for delivering high-speed, low-latency broadband through a vast network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, operating just 550 km above the Earth. This is in contrast to traditional geostationary satellites, which orbit much farther out and generally offer slower, higher-latency connections.
SpaceX has already deployed around 7,000 LEO satellites globally and aims to scale this up to over 40,000, enabling internet access even in the most remote and challenging terrains — from conflict zones to disaster-struck regions.
How Much Will It Cost To Indian Consumers?
With regulatory barriers being cleared, focus is now shifting to what Starlink will cost Indian users. According to reports, industry estimates suggest the monthly subscription fee could range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000, depending on the plan and location. On top of that, users will have to buy a Starlink kit — which includes a satellite dish and Wi-Fi router — priced between Rs 20,000 and Rs 35,000.
