Starlink has been, for some time now, offering its beta program to users around the world and it’s now planning to enter India to provide high-speed internet to the remotest part of the country.
In a major event, Starlink has been approached by the Indian authorities to seek permits related to the telecom and space satellite industry before offering any services.
The plan is to provide these services to the general Indian users by the mid of the next year.
Starlink has fast-tracked the global launch of its services by launching numerous satellites last year. These satellites will communicate with each other to form an interconnected web of satellites using laser links.
Starlink Internet, Through this technology, Starlink will be able to provide internet speeds, that of fiber, without having to use an actual fiber.
But this journey of providing fast internet to the general public and the people living in the remotest areas is not that easy.
Recently, the Starlink operations have been objected to by the Broadband India Forum (BFI) members alleging that Starlink didn’t have authorization for its operations in India.
To handle this situation and clear the cloud, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will investigate whether Starlink’s beta program has violated any telecom regulations or not.
This venture by DoT has been reportedly followed after BIF objectified to its legality, whose members include Bharti Airtel owned OneWeb, Amazon,Google, Microsoft, and Facebook
The forum alleged that SpaceX didn’t have licensing and authorization in India.
To ensure Starlink’s legality and authentication, Indian regulators will ask them to share details of its plans in India to determine whether the company would require Internet service provider licensing and Very small aperture terminal licensing (VSAT) to continue its operations in India.
DoT will also discuss the issue with the Department of Space (DoS) to determine whether the company would have to apply to Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to obtain rights for satellite signals in India
DoT will also ask SpaceX about the type of service they are providing, their spectrum bands, and the technology of the foreign satellite they would use.
The company has started offering pre-orders for its beta program in India for a fully refundable deposit of $99.
