Starlink has reportedly cleared its last regulatory hurdle to offer commercial broadband-from-space services in India, with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) granting its formal approval. This makes the the company the third player, after Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s joint venture with SES, to secure all required clearances to operate in the Indian satellite communication market.
Starlink had already received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit last month. With IN-SPACe’s latest nod, the company is now authorised to operate its first-generation (Gen 1) low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network comprising 4,408 satellites. This constellation is expected to deliver a total throughput capacity of up to 600 Gbps for Indian users.
The Department of Telecommunications is also expected to soon allocate trial spectrum to Starlink for network testing and compliance with India’s national security protocols. The development positions Starlink to play a key role in bridging connectivity gaps, especially in rural and remote parts of India, where traditional infrastructure struggles to reach.
