Elon Musk-Backed Starlink To Apply For Commercial Licence In India By January-End

Around a week after the government directed Elon-Musk backed Starlink to obtain licence from the Department of Telecom before offering services in India, the company has said that it would likely apply for a commercial permit by 31 January 2022.

Starlink country director India Sanjay Bhargava on Friday (3 December) said that the company hopes to apply for a commercial licence by January end unless the SpaceX's India subsidiary hits some "major roadblock".

“We hope to have applied for a commercial license on or before January 31, 2022 (unless we hit some major roadblock),” Starlink’s India head said in a LinkedIn post Friday evening.

The announcement by Bhargava comes exactly a week after the government asked Starlink to refrain from booking/rendering its services in India from "immediate effect" since it does not have a licence to offer satellite-based internet services in the country.

Bhargava further added,"There are currently unknowns on when you may get your Starlink”. However, he urged the potential customers in India to “pay careful consideration to whether Starlink could just be the broadband solution” they need.

He added that the company’s goal is "to provide context on how Starlink could be a great fit for connectivity" in numerous situations.

“A 100% Broadband India will require collaboration across stakeholders, service providers, and technologies, and we encourage everyone to think about their use cases and develop connectivity plans for districts as well as private use.” Bhargava said in his LinkedIn post.