India will allow Musk's Starlink to operate if passes security checks

MUMBAI: Elon Musk's satellite internet service, Starlink, will be granted permission to operate in India after complying with security regulations, local media reported on Tuesday.

The potential launch of Starlink, with its network of low Earth orbit satellites capable of providing internet to remote and disconnected locations in the world's most populous country, has been accompanied by fierce policy debates and alleged national security concerns.

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told local media that India would allow the company to operate "as long as they're complying with all the conditions from a security perspective".

"They have to check all the boxes," business newspaper Mint quoted Scindia as saying.

The minister did not provide further details, but local media reported earlier this month that the government and Starlink were in talks over several security-related issues, including data storage.

The decision comes less than a week after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, with Musk emerging as one of his most enthusiastic backers and being tipped for a government role.

Starlink gained global attention when its terminals were sent to Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion to help with battlefield communications.

Musk has also clashed with Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, in recent months over how satellite spectrum should be awarded.

Ambani, who heads India's largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio, has been trying to convince authorities to auction the spectrum rather than allocate it.

In submissions made before the country's telecom regulator, Jio argued that auctions are needed to ensure a "level playing field" between terrestrial operators like itself and satellite internet service firms like Starlink.

Musk, on the other hand, strongly opposes this, pushing for administrative allocation instead.

"That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites," the tech mogul said on X last month, in response to a user pointing out that Reliance had argued for auctions.

Analysts say that auctioning, which would likely be more expensive for all companies involved, could impact the economics of launching satellite internet services.

"The satcom market is a very competitive and difficult market to be profitable in," said Gareth Owen, Associate Director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

"There are simply too many systems chasing a limited market opportunity. As a result, every satellite operator will do whatever they can to impede or delay the entry of a competitor."

By RSS/AFP