The minister emphasised that Starlink should be sure that consumer terminals are registered domestically earlier than a license will be granted
In sum – what it’s worthwhile to know:
License on maintain – Starlink has not but obtained approval to function in India, because it should fulfill regulatory and safety circumstances, together with organising native gateways and registering consumer terminals.
Authorities watch – The licensing course of entails a number of businesses (DoT, TRAI, IN-SPACe), with a powerful give attention to inner safety and information sovereignty earlier than any inexperienced gentle is given.
Strategic partnerships – Bharti Airtel and Jio have each signed agreements with SpaceX, contingent on Starlink’s approval, to increase satellite tv for pc broadband to underserved areas utilizing native infrastructure.
Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite tv for pc web enterprise, has but to obtain an working license in India, in keeping with native press studies.
India’s Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, talking to native media, confirmed that whereas progress is being made, Starlink has not but accomplished all the mandatory steps to start out providing providers within the nation.
“The method is ongoing. The minute they meet all circumstances — together with organising gateways in India and registering consumer terminals regionally — we’re able to difficulty the license,” Scindia stated.
The licensing determination entails a number of businesses, together with the Division of Telecommunications (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Indian Nationwide House Promotion and Authorization Heart (IN-SPACe). Collectively, these authorities are at present assessing the corporate’s compliance with India’s regulatory framework, which incorporates technical, administrative and nationwide safety concerns.
The minister emphasised that Starlink should be sure that consumer terminals are registered domestically earlier than a license will be granted. These necessities are a part of broader efforts to make sure information sovereignty and tackle inner safety issues.
“It’s not solely associated to DoT, but in addition to inner safety — gateways should be in India, any consumer terminal needs to be registered in India…the minute they verify all of the containers, which I additionally hope can be quickly, the license needs to be given,” Scindia added.
Final month, Indian service Bharti Airtel introduced that it has entered into an settlement with SpaceX to supply Starlink’s broadband providers to clients in India.
At the moment, Airtel famous that this marks the primary such settlement within the nation, contingent upon SpaceX securing regulatory approvals to formally present Starlink providers within the Asian nation.
The collaboration will Airtel and SpaceX to discover how Starlink can complement Airtel’s current choices whereas additionally leveraging Airtel’s experience within the Indian market to boost SpaceX’s direct shopper and enterprise providers.
As a part of this partnership, Airtel and SpaceX will think about making Starlink tools out there by Airtel’s retail shops, delivering Starlink connectivity to Airtel’s enterprise purchasers and increasing protection to distant areas, together with colleges, well being facilities and whole communities. Moreover, each corporations will discover methods by which Starlink can improve Airtel’s community whereas SpaceX advantages from Airtel’s infrastructure and operational capabilities inside India.
By integrating Starlink into its portfolio — alongside its present partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb — Airtel goals to increase its protection, significantly in areas that at present have little or no entry to broadband providers.
Bharti Airtel’s chairman Sunil Mittal has just lately known as on governments and regulators to incentivize telecom operators to increase rural connectivity, help trade consolidation and decrease spectrum prices.
Talking at Cellular World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona, he emphasised the pressing want for cooperation between terrestrial and satellite tv for pc operators to shut the connectivity hole for the final 400 million folks worldwide.
Mittal pressured that consolidation within the telecom sector is important to allow operators to take a position closely in infrastructure and accomplice with satellite tv for pc suppliers. He argued that the trade ought to give attention to sharing assets fairly than duplicating investments.
Jio Platforms, which is a part of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, had additionally introduced an settlement with SpaceX to deliver Starlink’s broadband web providers to its clients in India.
The Indian firm famous that this collaboration goals to ship dependable broadband entry nationwide, together with to India’s most distant and underserved areas.