Elon Musk's India Ambitions Face Regulatory Hurdles Amid Uncertainty Around Starlink License: Report
Elon Musk's space-based internet service provider, Starlink, could reportedly face delays in its plans to expand into India due to regulatory requirements.
What Happened: India's telecom minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, reiterated that Musk's company must comply with stringent local regulations if it plans to operate in the country, according to RCR Wireless on Friday.
"The process is ongoing. The minute they meet all conditions — including setting up gateways in India and registering user terminals locally — we are ready to issue the license," Scindia said.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
However, Starlink must go through a significant amount of red tape to get its license in India, as the process involves multiple government agencies like the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe).
"It's not only related to DoT, but also to internal security — gateways have to be in India, any user terminal has to be registered in India…the minute they check all the boxes, which I also hope will be soon, the license should be given," Scindia said, reiterating the importance of domestic gateways and user terminals.
Why It Matters: The news comes in as Starlink just added 13 more low-earth orbit satellites to its constellation aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink has a healthy lead in the space-based internet race with its constellation boasting over 7,000 satellites and operating in more than 100 countries.
Starlink also recently signed an agreement with two of India's major telecom providers, Bharati Airtel, as well as billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms Ltd., to provide satellite internet services in the country.
Musk has been eyeing India for a while, and spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, where the two reportedly discussed ‘immense potential' for collaboration in ‘technology and innovation,' among other things.
On the other hand, Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Project Kuiper, Starlink's closest competitor, faces significant challenges in deploying its low Earth orbit satellites.
Elsewhere, SpaceX is among the ‘frontrunners' to build U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome Missile Defense System, along with Peter Thiel's Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR).
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