Starlink Gets Government Approval to Launch Satellite Internet in India as DoT Issues Letter of Intent: Reports

India is technologically advancing and expanding its digital reach, especially in rural as well as remote areas. As per recent development and sources, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture. It means the government has given a green light to Starlink to operate in the country. This came after the Elon Musk-led tech giant comply with the licensing conditions, keeping national security in mind by the Indian Government.

Here’s Everything We Know So Far:

To recall, Elon Musk Starlink has been looking for the approval from the Indian Government regarding setting satellite-based internet services in India. The company first showed interest in 2022 and applied for the license to operate its low Earth orbit satellite network in the country. Nevertheless, the progress met with a halt due to regulatory hurdles and national security concerns raised by the Indian government.

After a long wait period of two years, it seems the company has finally received a green signal from the Indian government.

As per source, “Yes, Starlink has been issued LoI by the Dot for GMPCS, VSAT and ISP licenses in India…the LoI came after it gave an undertaking to meet license conditions and security protocols under the new revised security guidelines…the final license will be given once Starlink is able to fulfil all license conditions. The In-SPACe authorisation will also be given soon.”

The Indian government has issued a Letter of Intent to Starlink, led by Elon Musk, to provide satellite internet services, under revised satellite connectivity regulations. Calls and user data must be stored in India, with strict monitoring obligations as per new norms.
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Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister met with several high-profile officials from Starlink on 16 April to understand how Starlink is going to be beneficial in India. He met with Parnil Urdhwareshe, who oversees market access in India, Chad Gibbs, the VP of business operations, and Ryan Goodnight, senior director for global licensing.

Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani , Minister of State for Communications informed that Starlink application for the satellite business is in the final stage. Once the approval is sanctioned, the company will join hands with Eutelsat, OneWeb, and the Jio-SES in order to increase India’ satellite growth.

Additionally, Starlink recently partnered with Reliance Jio and Airtel to distribute compay’s services through their retail as well as online channels. All three companies will help Starlink to establish physical stores and activate its high speed internet satellite service in India.