SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, is said to have applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a licence to bring satellite-based broadband to India.
Elon Musk’s company applied to the DoT for a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence last week, according to ET, citing DoT officials. Starlink is, by the way, the third company to apply for a GMPCS licence. Starlink is the third company to submit an application for a GMPCS licence. OneWeb, which is backed by Airtel, and Jio’s satellite arm, Jio Space Technology, have also applied. Before it can begin operations in India, the company will need to obtain a number of additional licences and permissions from various Indian authorities. As Starlink prepares to enter India’s $13 billion space internet market, competition is heating up.