Starlink India BIG Update: Why Elon Musk’s satellite internet rollout is getting delayed, what Telecom Minister Scindia said?

Do you know why Starlink satellite internet rollout getting delayed in India? Know wat Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said.

Starlink India Update: Elon Musk’s Starlink, which is a satellite internet constellation, has started dominating the broadband market in over 150 countries and has crossed nine million subscribers across 155 nations in December. It is the fastest growth phase of Starlink to date. Over a span of 47 days, Starlink added an average of 21,275 new users every day, breaking its earlier record of 14,250 daily sign-ups. Now, the satcom leader is set to launch its services in India and the market is expected to add around 1.5 million subscribers by FY30. But the question arises as to why Elon Musk’s satellite internet rollout is getting delayed in India?

What did Telecom Minister Say?

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently said that satellite communication services will be officially launched in the country once major telecom players, that includes Elon Musk’s company, agree and comply with security agencies’ requirements.

In a recent interview, Scindia said that the central government will soon allocate spectrum to satcom providers, including Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio SGS, once the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) prepare and finalises spectrum pricing.

Satcom Spectrum Allocation

The Telecom Minister further stated that the satcom launch depends on two major factors – security compliance and pricing.

“There are two issues that need to be addressed. One by the licence holders OneWeb, Reliance Jio, and Starlink, which is to comply with security clearances regarding international gateways, ensuring data remains in India, and so on,” Scindia said.

Provisional Spectrum Issued

It is to be noted that the Indian government has already issued provisional spectrum to these companies. The provisional spectrum allows these companies to showcase their compliance capabilities to security agencies.

“They are in the process of doing that, so they need to comply,” Scindia said.

The satcom spectrum will not be launched until DoT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) finalise the pricing.

Regulatory Discussions

Earlier, TRAI reviewed and rejected DoT suggestions on the satcom. The suggestions included a proposal to raise the annual spectrum fee from 4 percent to 5 percent. The proposal also suggested the removal of a Rs 500 per-connection fee in urban areas.

Notably, DoT is likely to present its proposal to the Digital Communication Commission (DCC), which is the sector’s decision-making body. After this the DCC will reveal its next step for spectrum pricing.

However, after all the process the SATCOM spectrum may require Cabinet approval.