After years of policy deliberation, boardroom battles over spectrum allocation methodology and protracted security compliance negotiations, the country’s satcom sector is finally transitioning from a regulatory limbo into operational readiness. The recent approval granted by Indian law enforcement agencies to Starlink, following its receipt of a global mobile personal communication by satellite licence from the Department of Telecommunications, represents the most consequential development in this space to date. It signals that India is no longer merely entertaining the idea of satellite broadband – it is actively clearing the path for it.
On the infrastructure front, Starlink is already undertaking initiatives. The company is in the process of establishing approximately ten gateway earth stations across the country, with Mumbai designated as the central operating hub. Cities such as Noida, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Lucknow are among those identified for gateway deployment. All satellite data communications will be managed and routed through this ground network once commercial services begin. Starlink’s IN-SPACe authorisation, valid until July 2030, gives the company a five-year operational window to build scale, provided the spectrum decision arrives without further delay.
What is particularly encouraging, however, is the momentum building at the state level even before commercial services begin. Meghalaya’s signing of a letter of intent with Starlink in April 2026 makes it the third state after Maharashtra and Gujarat to formalise such a partnership. The states will undertake pilot testing of high-speed internet delivery across sectors such as education, healthcare, disaster management and rural economic development.
That said, clearance from law enforcement agencies is necessary, but not sufficient. Starlink cannot yet commence commercial operations, as satellite spectrum allocation remains pending. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is currently in active consultation with stakeholders on spectrum pricing, and the Digital Communications Commission is expected to ratify the regulator’s recommendations shortly. Until that decision arrives, the industry will continue to be in a limbo, approvals accumulating, but services not yet flowing.
The challenge is twofold. On one hand, administrative spectrum allocation over auctioning has lowered the entry barrier and created space for multiple operators to co-exist and compete. On the other hand, the compliance requirements, from indigenisation mandates to per-site security clearances, have introduced cost and timeline variables that could disproportionately affect smaller players and delay the commercial momentum that the sector urgently needs. For the broader satcom ecosystem, this is a familiar position. Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES secured trial spectrum in 2024 and have since been operating under extensions while awaiting final security clearances.
With the regulatory groundwork already laid, operators eagerly awaiting commercialisation and states moving faster to pilot the services, the challenge for policymakers now is to ensure that the final spectrum decision arrives without further delay, and that the compliance framework, while non-negotiable on sovereignty grounds, is administered with the efficiency that a fast-moving technology demands.
The risk of delay is no longer abstract – it is measurable in lost momentum, deferred investment and a narrowing window of competitive advantage. Countries that emerge as leaders in satellite broadband will not necessarily be those with the most rigorous regulatory architectures, but those with the resolve to activate them without hesitation. India has done the hard work of building the rules. It must now resist the temptation to keep refining them, and instead allow them to help shape an ecosystem that can immeasurably bridge its digital divide.
