Elon Musk's Starlink one step away from getting greenlit in India with in-principal govt nod

Days before his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, Elon Musk's satellite internet venture Starlink has received an in-principle approval from the telecom ministry. This approval clears a critical hurdle that the venture has been facing for almost three-and-a-half years.

The approval process is now at the desk of communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, awaiting final vetting by the home ministry over certain security matters, according to highly-placed sources. One of the sources as reported by TOI stated, "The commercial part has been examined on issues, such as, foreign investment and net worth. The essential examination shows that it (Starlink's application) is in line with the (official) guidelines. Thus, it has been approved." The source further mentioned that the technical requirements have also been examined as per the license conditions.

"The technical requirements have been examined as per the licence conditions," the source said, adding, the company has also submitted a "declaration" regarding its ownership.

"The ownership issue had been a serious one and govt wanted to make sure that the company has no stakeholder from a country that shares land border with India. That would've raised a red flag. The matter is sorted now after the declaration," the source said.

A major concern for the government was the ownership of Starlink, and it wanted to ensure that the company had no stakeholders from countries that share a land border with India. This issue has been resolved after Starlink submitted a declaration regarding its ownership.

The telecom ministry has also imposed certain mandates, including that the KYC details and customer information of Indian users should not move outside the country. On security aspects, the government requires an undertaking from Starlink that traffic over Indian airspace and waters should only terminate at a local gateway. Additionally, the data beams from satellites should only land in India and not end up on foreign shores due to satellite movement.

"Also, the data beams from satellites should only land in India and not end up on foreign shores due to movement of satellites," the source said, adding, the company has "assured" authorities that it "has a solution to tackle" this matter.

Once the approval is granted by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Starlink will be issued a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) services license, which is essential for offering satellite communication services in India. OneWeb (backed by Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal) and Mukesh Ambani's Jio (in partnership with Luxembourg-based SES) have already been granted GMPCS licenses, though the manner of spectrum allocation and pricing is yet to be finalized by the regulator Trai.

Elon Musk's visit to India
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has expedited the license process for Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet unit ahead of his visit to India later this month. The department is currently working on a letter of intent (LoI) and trial spectrum for Starlink's satellite communications services.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has confirmed his visit to India on April 21 and 22, during which he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is expected to make several major announcements during his visit, including the launch of Starlink and investments ranging from $2 billion to $3 billion in India.

Starlink, a project by SpaceX, offers high-speed internet via satellites. Musk has made previous attempts to launch Starlink in India, with the most recent being in November 2022 when Starlink applied for a GMPCS license. However, disagreements with the government regarding pre-orders without proper licensing led to the cancellation of planned satcom service trials in India.

Competition in the Satcom Spectrum Race
The satcom spectrum race is intensifying, with Musk's Starlink set to compete with Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal's respective companies. Reliance Jio, in a joint venture with Luxembourg-based SES, and Bharti Airtel, jointly with OneWeb-Eutelsat, are also in the race for satcom spectrum.

During his visit, Musk is scheduled to meet with various government officials, including Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The preparations for Musk's visit are currently underway, and the Prime Minister's Office is expected to send out invitations next week to potential attendees. Alongside government officials, some industry stakeholders may also be invited to meet with the Tesla CEO.

The Centre has already eased regulations for importing fully built electric vehicles in response to Musk's plans, clearing the path for Tesla to enter the Indian market. Bloomberg reports suggest that Tamil Nadu could be a potential manufacturing site for Tesla before Musk's visit, although no final decision has been made regarding an EV plant in India.

(With inputs from TOI)