Musk's Starlink secures key license to launch services in India
What's the story
Elon Musk's Starlink has received a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The company completed all security compliance requirements mentioned in its letter of intent (LoI), a senior government official told Moneycontrol.
With this, Starlink becomes the third company after Eutelsat's OneWeb and Reliance Jio to get a GMPCS license for India operations.
Spectrum allocation
Starlink's plan to launch high-speed satellite broadband services in India
The official further revealed that Starlink will get a trial spectrum in the next two weeks. This development comes as part of SpaceX's plan to launch its high-speed satellite broadband services in India.
However, before starting operations, the company needs approval from the Indian space regulator, In-SPACe.
As per reports, Starlink had already submitted security-related requirements to meet new license conditions and given undertakings on other guidelines.
Operational requirements
What happens after getting clearance from In-SPACe
After getting clearance from In-SPACe, Starlink will get a provisional spectrum allocation. The company plans to establish three gateways in India and has been waiting for a license for three to four years.
However, it still has some procedural steps to complete before starting commercial satellite communication services in India. These include setting up gateways, a Network Operations Centre, and ensuring lawful interception capabilities.
License status
Amazon's Kuiper still waiting for application approval
Meanwhile, Amazon's Kuiper is still waiting for its application to be approved by the DoT.
Despite meeting all security and operational conditions required to get the license, Kuiper's application is still under review.
The next inter-ministerial standing committee meeting will discuss this matter.
Unlike Starlink, which plans three gateways, Kuiper intends to build a massive satcom capacity in India with 10 gateways and two points of presence in Mumbai and Chennai.