The Indian government has apparently given Elon Musk’s Starlink permission to run its satellite internet services there. Moneycontrol reported that the Department of Telecom (DoT) has granted Starlink the Letter of Intent (LoI). The corporation has not yet received the “final license,” which will be granted if “all licence conditions” are met, according to the article.
“Yes, Starlink has been issued LoI by the Dot for GMPCS, VSAT and ISP licences in India,” a government official reportedly told media. “The final licence will be given once Starlink is able to fulfil all licence conditions,” the source reportedly added.
The abrupt drive for Starlink services in India, however, may also have a commerce component, according to a Washington Post investigation. According to reports, Indian government officials acted swiftly to authorize Starlink’s entry into the Indian market because they believe it may pave the way for more extensive trade negotiations with the US.“It’s not likely to be an explicit element of the trade negotiations with the US, but the Indian side sees this as an important lubricant that facilitates a deal,” an Indian official told The Washington Post. The launch of SpaceX’s services in India may be worth billions of dollars. According to reports, obtaining only 1% of India’s consumer broadband market could generate about $1 billion annually for SpaceX.
SpaceX will soon be able to showcase its services in India thanks to Starlink’s receipt of the LoI. Consider the satellite internet services offered by Starlink to be relatively comparable to those offered by OneWeb in India. In India, OneWeb already offers satellite broadband services, and Airtel owns a sizeable portion of the business. As a result, OneWeb offers satellite broadband services to communities and companies, while Airtel uses OneWeb’s technology to provide its clients with satellite internet.
Earlier this year, Jio and Airtel both inked agreements with SpaceX’s Starlink to offer its services to Indian consumers in a similar endeavor. This agreement, which was made public in March 2025, was contingent on SpaceX obtaining the necessary authorizations to sell Starlink in the nation. which it has now.
When Jio announced its agreement with Starlink, it stated that it will provide Starlink services through its shops and online platforms as soon as SpaceX launches its services in India. Additionally, Airtel stated that it may provide Starlink’s services to companies and sell Starlink equipment in its stores.
SpaceX’s satellite internet project, Starlink, is to use a massive network of low-Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet. In contrast to conventional cable-based internet services, Starlink is made to provide dependable and quick internet connectivity in isolated and challenging-to-reach locations. In order to get around many of the problems that traditional broadband services experience, the service connects customers to a constellation of satellites that transport data to and from Earth.
Jio and Airtel have stated that they want to use it’s technology to increase internet connectivity in remote locations without traditional infrastructure, such as schools and medical institutions in rural regions. Along with looking at ways for SpaceX to use Airtel’s telecom infrastructure in India, Airtel also intends to integrate Starlink into its present network.
Satellite-based internet from Starlink seems like a potential option for locations where setting up traditional broadband infrastructure is difficult, particularly in isolated or difficult-to-reach places. The service is now operational in a number of nations and is working to increase its worldwide reach and performance by growing its constellation of satellites. Earlier last week, SpaceX launched Starlink services in Brazil.
Starlink is anticipated to provide upload speeds of 5 Mbps to 20 Mbps and download speeds of 25 Mbps to 220 Mbps when it debuts in India. It is anticipated that latency will be between 25 and 50 ms, allowing for video conversations, gaming, and streaming.
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