Top officials of the company recently requested in a meeting with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. In addition to demanding a fast node for its application, the company discussed its plans to expand operations in the country.
Goyal said in a post on X on Wednesday, “met a Starlink delegation, including Vice President Chad Gibbs and Senior Director, Ryan Goodnight. Discussions covered Starlink’s state -of -the -art technology forum, his current partnership and future investment plans in India.”
Starlinks did not respond until the press and the Ministry of Commerce, emailed.
Security review is still going on
A government official said on the condition of anonymity, “The government is still examining the Starlink application from a security point of view. The company will be able to invest in the country only after approval.”
The company’s investment will largely go to set up Earth Station Gateway in the country. Satellite Earth Station Gateway is ground-based features that serve as an important link between satellites and local networks, and core for Internet connectivity.
Another official said, “According to shared plans, Starlink is currently setting three Earth Station Gateway,” said another officer.
Starlink submitted its application to the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) to get global mobile personal communication by Satellite (DOT) in 2022. The license is an important requirement to offer satellite-based communication services in the country.
In addition to the license, the company will also need the Indian National Space Promotion and Authority Center (In-Space) to create the ability to provide satellites and the ability to provide services in the country.
According to government officials, Starlink has accepted the major criteria to obtain a license to launch satellite broadband services in the country. These include compulsory safety and data storage requirements by the government. However, the government still wants to be ensured from the national security point of view before approved the company’s application.
Data rules, spectrum pricing key
In these guidelines, the company needs to store all user data within the country and ensure that the intelligence agencies can facilitate data blockage if needed. This is a condition to obtain any license under the dot.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is also in the process of finalizing its recommendations on other conditions including the pricing of spectrum for satellite services and the tenure of the license, spectrum use fee, etc.
Rural opportunity
According to analysts, once the Starlink application in the country is approved, it will bring faster and reliable internet to the undested areas. In addition, the company will also serve urban areas with its satellite internet services.
Analysts from Brokerage Bernstein said, “India’s 40% of the population does not have internet usage with rural areas, which makes most of these cases. It represents a large market opportunity for customer base in rural areas (for Starlinks),” A brokerage Bernstein analysts said in a note on 4 March.
However, analysts stated that “factors such as ability, competition from established terrestrial providers (eg Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel), and pricing sensitivity means that only one fraction of these people is likely to be subscribed.”
Pricing gaps with local providers
According to Bernstein’s estimates, the pricing of the starlink in India is quite high – 10 to 14 times more than the country’s major broadband providers. For connections providing speed between 50 and 200 Mbps, users have to pay an advance fee 52,242, with monthly membership 10,469. When taxes and other charges are included, the total annual cost comes almost 2.16 lakhs for Starlink.
In comparison, fiber broadband plans are available for the bus from Airtel and Jio. To 11,000 15,000 per year, Bernstein said.
Currently, Eultsat Onweeb, headed by Jio platforms and Bharti enterprises, has received the necessary approval to provide satellite broadband internet in the country.
Last month, two of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio -India’s two largest telecommunications service providers entered an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink broadband internet services to their customers in India.
Telecom operators, who once opposed the entry of such players to avoid competition, will offer opportunities to add starlink equipment in their retail stores, services, communities, schools and health centers for business customers.
Starlink operates the world’s largest satellite constellation, with more than 6,750 satellites worldwide, according to the details available on its website.
