Starlink in India: Decision will be taken based on TRAI’s recommendation, says Scindia

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday (November 12, 2024) said any decision on the launch of SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink was contingent on recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which is holding a consultation process.

The Minister was responding to a query on the status of the satellite internet firm’s application to provide its services in India at a press interaction.

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A Starlink executive had clashed last week with Indian telecom executives over the course of an open house discussion held by the regulator, accusing the firms of making false statements about the Elon Musk-owned service.

After that consultation process concludes with recommendations from TRAI, Mr. Scindia said, Starlink would be free to apply. “They have to comply with all the conditionalities,” he said. “You have to look at it from a security perspective, making sure all the security concerns are addressed.”

At present, the government has issued licence to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, a Jio-SES joint venture.

One of the main reasons that Starlink and OneWeb, its main competitor, have not yet been issued authorisations, is security clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Satellite internet in India is typically only offered for business use, or as so-called backhaul in places such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, which have only recently been connected through an undersea cable network to the Indian mainland.