Ashraf Engineer
July 11, 2025
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Hello and welcome to All Indians Matter. I am Ashraf Engineer.
Recently, Elon Musk’s Starlink received a licence to launch commercial operations in India —nearly three years after first applying for one.
Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite-based service that delivers high-speed, low-latency broadband via a network of low Earth orbit satellites just 550 km above Earth. With this, Starlink can offer faster and more reliable connections, especially in underserved areas, than traditional services that use geostationary satellites far above the Earth.
There is no doubt about its potential. Deloitte predicted India’s satellite broadband service market would be worth $1.9 billion by 2030, making it attractive for companies like Starlink as well as Amazon’s Kuiper, which is awaiting a licence.
While the Starlink licence was criticised by some over issues like predatory pricing and spectrum allocation, it can also revolutionise internet access in rural areas and thus help transform their economic landscape.
SIGNATURE TUNE
Starlink is the third company to get such a licence from the Department of Telecommunications, which approved applications also from Eutelsat, OneWeb and Reliance Jio. Musk had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February in the US, where they discussed Starlink’s launch and India’s security concerns. So, Starlink’s licence was granted after the government carried out due diligence, especially from a security perspective.
Although Starlink has cleared a major hurdle, it’s still a long way from launching commercial services. It needs another licence from India’s space regulator and then it must secure spectrum from the government, set up infrastructure and demonstrate through trials that it meets security rules. All this could take months, after which it can begin selling its equipment and services to customers.
In March, in a surprise move, Jio and Bharti Airtel separately inked partnerships to stock Starlink equipment in their retail stores. However, they will all still compete in the broadband space. Earlier, Musk and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio had clashed over how India should grant spectrum for satellite services. The government had then accepted Musk’s suggestion that spectrum be assigned, not auctioned.
The telecom regulator had in May proposed that satellite service providers pay 4% of their annual revenue to the government, which domestic players said was low and would hurt their businesses. The regulator also recommended that satcom operators pay an additional annual charge of Rs 500 per subscriber in urban areas.
As I said earlier, satcom services rely on an array of satellites to offer connectivity to homes and businesses. They are an alternative to ground-based terrestrial networks, such as cable, fibre or digital subscriber line which is better known as DSL. Starlink operates the world’s largest satellite constellation, with around 7,000 satellites in orbit.
For you and I, such a service offers two benefits: wider coverage and a more resilient network. Even though the latency of such networks can sometimes be higher than those of terrestrial ones, they cover vast swathes of areas with very little physical equipment needed.
So, the Starlink licence could pave the way for a technology-driven transformation of rural India, offering fast internet in areas traditional infrastructure cannot reach. While the costs could be higher, better connectivity could spur rural economies, allowing small businesses there to reach a wider market or farmers to access real-time weather data and agricultural insights.
Accordingly, the Department of Telecom released guidelines for satellite communication firms, calling for local manufacturing, data localisation, domestic navigation systems, a blocking mechanism and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
The drawbacks of a service like Starlink are:
- It is expensive to build and maintain, and those costs will be passed on to consumers
- Heavy rain, storms or obstructions can interfere with signals
- In populous cities, where fibre networks are established, Starlink may struggle to compete on speed, stability and cost.
The security concerns, meanwhile, are legitimate. The network would collect vast volumes of user data, posing privacy risks. So, satcom firms will have to provide real-time monitoring to ensure no user traffic originating from, or destined for India, is being routed through a gateway outside India. They will also have to submit an undertaking to not copy or decrypt Indian telecom data outside the country.
The rules say operators must implement service restrictions to individuals, groups or areas that the government specifies. The companies will have to seek separate clearances for voice service and data services. Also, data centres must be based within the boundaries of India.
There are also geopolitical concerns. Musk considered cutting Starlink services in Ukraine, where the network was vital for military communication. This raised worries that the services in India could face similar disruption in times of diplomatic tension.
In terms of manufacturing, the licence comes at a time when many global majors are shifting production from China to India. Satcom companies are required to share with the Indian government a year-wise manufacturing plan that aims at a minimum indigenisation level of 20% of their ground segment after five years of commercial operations.
In the end, the success or failure of Starlink in India will hinge on affordability, especially given the ultra-cheap alternatives. But as important will be adaptability to local challenges and an understanding of India’s unique digital landscape.
Thank you all for listening. Please visit allindiansmatter.in for more columns and audio podcasts. You can follow me on Twitter at @AshrafEngineer and @AllIndiansCount. Search for the All Indians Matter page on Facebook. On Instagram, the handle is @AllIndiansMatter. Email me at editor@allindiansmatter.in. Catch you again soon.
