Starlink in India: According to sources on Friday, the Department of Telecommunications has awarded Elon Musk’s Starlink a major license, which will help the satellite company’s aspirations to take over the market.

Following the approval of comparable applications by Reliance Jio and Eutelsat’s OneWeb to offer services in the country, Starlink is the third business to receive a license from the Indian Department of Telecommunications. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Department of Telecommunications or Starlink.

Starlink Licensed in India:

Since 2022, Starlink has been waiting for licenses to conduct business in India; however, there have been delays because of national security concerns, among other reasons. Kuiper from Amazon is still awaiting its Indian license. Musk’s business and Jio, the company of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, have been at odds in recent months on how the nation should distribute spectrum for satellite services. The Indian government agrees with Musk that spectrum ought to be allocated rather than put up for auction.

Starlink Signed Deals With Airtel & Jio:

In March, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel announced an agreement to bring the ground-breaking Starlink satellite broadband service to India. At the time, Airtel clarified that the agreement depended on SpaceX receiving government approval to offer Starlink’s satellite communication services in the country.

After months of disagreement over spectrum allocation, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio took a surprising step by agreeing to roll out Starlink satellite internet services in India. As part of the deal, India’s largest telecom provider, Reliance Jio, agreed to stock Starlink equipment in its retail stores, giving Starlink direct access to distribution through thousands of outlets across the country. Both agreements, with Jio and Airtel, hinged on the government granting Starlink the necessary clearance to begin operations in India.

Also Read: Elon Musk’s India Tour: Tesla, Starlink, SpaceX and More

What is Starlink?

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, offers a satellite internet service called Starlink. Through satellites in low Earth orbit, it promises high-speed internet. Starlink might revolutionize internet access in India, even in the most isolated and underdeveloped regions, if it makes inroads into the Indian market.

According to the official website, Starlink communicates with user terminals on the ground by using a constellation of tiny satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It currently runs more than 6,750 satellites that provide high-speed, low-latency internet to millions of active users worldwide.

Also Read: Satellite internet in India: TRAI’s new pricing model explained

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