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However, spectrum still needs to be allocated by the regulator before commercial services can begin

Today, India’s Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has revealed that SpaceX’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, Starlink, has been granted an operating licence, allowing it to legally provide connectivity services across the country.

“Starlink has been granted a Unified License to launch satellite internet services in India,” said Scindia, speaking on the 30th anniversary of India’s first mobile phone call.

The news will come as a huge relief to SpaceX, which has been pursuing regulatory approval for years. The company has long viewed India as a crucial market with high growth potential, highlighting the millions of people living in remote locations underserved by traditional connectivity infrastructure.

But while the licence has been a long time coming, Starlink’s regulatory pains are not over yet. The regulator has yet to formally allocate satellite spectrum, leaving Starlink – as well as fellow licensees Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Space Technology – in a holding pattern, unable to launch commercial services.

An official timeline for spectrum allocation has not been revealed, but Scindia says that a framework for allocation has been agreed by the regulator.

“Frameworks for spectrum allocation and gateway establishment are ready, ensuring smooth rollout,” he said.

Starlink’s path into India has been a troubled one. The company was initially optimistic that its application would be granted with little delay, even going so far as to begin selling pre-orders of Starlink terminals to Indian customers in 2021. However, the regulatory process proved more arduous than anticipated.

Satellite licence applications are subject to intense scrutiny, including complying with strict security requirements, including mandatory interception and monitoring protocols, use of local data centres, and location tracking of user terminals. These factors, combined with objections from rival satellite operators and clashes with regulators, saw the application process progress at a glacial pace.

(The government later ordered Starlink to refund the more than 5,000 pre-orders it had received, chastising the satellite operator for not waiting for official approval.)

In addition to its licencing quagmire, SpaceX also found itself at loggerheads with Indian mobile operators over spectrum policy. Satellite operators in most markets around the world are simply allocated spectrum at little to no cost by regulators, but in India this conventional approach was being questioned. The mobile operators, which had paid millions of dollars for their spectrum at government auctions, argued that satellite players are increasingly encroaching on the territory of traditional wireless operators without having to face the up-front costs. Why should satellite connectivity providers receive preferential treatment?

These arguments appeared to resonate with India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which said in late 2021 that it was considering auctioning satellite spectrum. SpaceX, naturally, argued this approach was a mistake, and lobbied the government not to abandon a tried-and-true framework used all over the world.

Much to the delight of Elon Musk, the DoT finally indicated last year that it would not be pursuing a spectrum auction and instead directly allocate the spectrum.

Since then, it seems the industry’s enmity towards Stariink had waned, with both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel signing deals with the satellite operator to help provide coverage to hard-to-reach customers.

Exactly what this deal means for Jio and Airtel’s existing satellite partnerships – Jio’s joint venture with SES, called Jio Space Technology, and Eutelsat OneWeb, respectively – remains to be seen.