Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Can’t Operate In India Without Permission: What Will Happen Now?

There has been a series of speculations going on ever since Elon-Musk-backed company Space X opened Starlink for pre-orders in India.

Pre-Orders For Indian Users

So far, the company is facing regulatory hurdles reportedly. 

Still, Starlink’s website is still functioning for Indian users and now taking pre-orders which will be completely refundable.

Some speculations also noted that the broadband services will start their operations in India next year after the company gets the required licenses for the same.

Need For License

It seems that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in India is directing Musk’s company SpaceX to acquire the required licenses before offering any service in the country. 

In the same regard, DoT plans to write to SpaceX seeking details for its plans in India.

As they want to understand if they require an internet service provider (ISP) and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) service authorizations.

Or if it requires one license to offer high-speed satellite internet services here.

Sources said, “DoT has no objections to SpaceX offering the Starlink satellite internet service in India. But it must comply with the laws of the land and seek an appropriate license and other authorizations before offering the service to Indian consumers,”.

Mobile Starlink

Currently, these services in the US are already live and in the beta testing phase.

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Starlink will also become mobile at the end of this year. 

In a tweet, Musk recently noted, “Yeah, should be fully mobile later this year, so you can move it anywhere or use it on an RV or truck in motion. We need a few more satellite launches to achieve complete coverage & some key software upgrades,”. 

Basically, this is in contrast to Starlink’s current requirement as it requires the satellite to be in one place or a “designated area”.

In one of its FAQs, Starlink notes that its satellites are scheduled to send the internet down to all users within a designated area or a cell on the ground.

So in case of users move the Starlink outside of its assigned cell then they may not receive internet.

Although, this latest tweet shows that the service may upgrade as it developed.