NEW DELHI: After nearly a year in the Home Ministry due to security concerns, Elon Musk’s satellite company Starlink may finally get the green light from the telecommunications ministry to provide services in India.
“A high-level meeting is planned for later this month and Starlink’s proposal for a global license for mobile personal communications via satellite (GMPCS) is expected to be adopted there,” a top source told TOI. “The meeting is likely to approve the proposal, although we cannot rule out some last-minute issues that could cause further delays.”
Once it gets GMPCS, Starlink will have to get certain other approvals from various wings of government and also from the Ministry of Space before it formally starts taking orders and working towards launching operations. Currently, Sunil Mittal-backed One Web and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio (in partnership with Luxembourg-based SES) hold the GMPCS license, while Jeff Bezos’ ‘Project Kuiper’ is yet to come to India.
A division of MuskSpaceX space company Starlink had started its bid in India on a sour note as it was reprimanded by the telecom ministry in late 2021 for taking advances from subscribers for fees for its services even when it was not licensed. The company was then said to have received more than 5,000 pre-orders for its devices in India, after which it faced the wrath of the government and was ordered to refund those who paid (it collected $99 from each).
“A high-level meeting is planned for later this month and Starlink’s proposal for a global license for mobile personal communications via satellite (GMPCS) is expected to be adopted there,” a top source told TOI. “The meeting is likely to approve the proposal, although we cannot rule out some last-minute issues that could cause further delays.”
Once it gets GMPCS, Starlink will have to get certain other approvals from various wings of government and also from the Ministry of Space before it formally starts taking orders and working towards launching operations. Currently, Sunil Mittal-backed One Web and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio (in partnership with Luxembourg-based SES) hold the GMPCS license, while Jeff Bezos’ ‘Project Kuiper’ is yet to come to India.
A division of MuskSpaceX space company Starlink had started its bid in India on a sour note as it was reprimanded by the telecom ministry in late 2021 for taking advances from subscribers for fees for its services even when it was not licensed. The company was then said to have received more than 5,000 pre-orders for its devices in India, after which it faced the wrath of the government and was ordered to refund those who paid (it collected $99 from each).
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