In a key milestone, Elon Musk's Starlink received government approval to set up satellite internet services in India. Starlink became the third company to get a licence from the Department of Telecommunications to provide satellite internet services in the country.
Earlier, the licence was given to Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to set up the satcom services. Meanwhile, a fourth applicant Amazon's Kuiper is still waiting for approvals.
Starlink will be granted a trial spectrum within 15-20 days of applying for it, said DoT sources.
The reports of the issuance of the licence come amid a major public spat between Musk and US President Donald Trump.
However, the licence from DoT came nearly a month after Starlink was issued a letter of intent (LoI) by the telecom department.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a satellite internet service developed by SpaceX, a space transportation company founded in 2002 by Musk. It offers high-speed, low-latency broadband internet worldwide using satellite technology and is aptly described by some as broadband beamed from the skies.
Typically, Starlink's download speed ranges from 25-220 Mbps, with most enjoying speeds over 100 Mbps.
Starlink utilises the world's largest low Earth orbit or LEO constellation (550 km above Earth). This constellation of LEO satellites (7,000 now but eventually set to grow to over 40,000) and its mesh delivers broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, and video calls.
Recently, Starlink signed pacts with Ambani's Reliance Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel, which together control over 70 per cent of the telecom market.
How much will Starlink cost in India?
It is said that Starlink is set to launch with a highly competitive initial promotional offer. It is likely to include unlimited data plans priced below around Rs 850 per month, reported the Economic Times.
