The telecoms minister stated on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s Starlink is requesting security clearance for a licence to provide satellite broadband services in India and will receive a permit if all requirements are met.
Starlink has been looking to enter India for years and its plans got a major boost last month when New Delhi said it wouldn’t auction spectrum for satellite broadband but rather award it administratively—just as Musk wanted. Mukesh Ambani, a rival Indian telecom billionaire, had requested an auction.
In order to receive security clearance, Starlink must convince New Delhi that it processes and stores data locally and that its satellite signals are secure, according to Indian telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who made this announcement on Tuesday.
“When you check all the boxes, you get the license. At an event in New Delhi, Scindia stated, “We will be very happy if they (Starlink) do that.”
Musk’s plans to provide broadband to Indians, a market that Ambani’s Reliance Jio currently controls with 14 million wired subscribers, would be one step closer if Starlink were granted security clearance.
As Reuters previously reported, Ambani, the richest man in Asia, has over 479 million Indian telecom users. However, he is worried that after spending $19 billion (approximately Rs. 1,60,324 crore) on airwave auctions, he now runs the risk of losing broadband customers and possibly data and voice clients to Musk as technology develops.
A source with direct knowledge claims that Reliance already has security clearance to begin offering satellite broadband services.
According to another person with knowledge of the situation, Starlink has informed the Indian government that it is prepared to abide by all of New Delhi’s security regulations.
Businesses still need to acquire spectrum in order to begin providing satellite broadband services after receiving security clearance.
Ambani provided free data on his mobile plans, and Musk has used similar forceful strategies. Musk upset local telecom companies by pricing Starlink at $10 (about Rs. 843) per month in Kenya as opposed to $120 (about Rs. 10,125) in the US.