Billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite could provide connectivity capabilities with a few terabytes per second of data across India. The necessary infrastructure has been built, and the company is waiting for regulatory approvals, according to a report by the Times of India, citing people aware of the development.
The Starlink satellite capacity is expected to be much higher, nearly 80-90 times more than competitors Eutelsat OneWeb or Reliance Jio-SES, which currently provide 30-50 gigabits per second (Gbps).
After receiving the regulatory approval, industry experts estimate that Starlink will serve retail and enterprise customers across the country.
Eutelsat-OneWeb and Jio-SES have received all necessary regulatory approvals and are waiting for spectrum allocation. In contrast, Starlink has to get a nod from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACE).
Starlink has submitted the required documents to In-SPACe and obtained a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite licence from DoT, but some issues remain, the report said. The company has agreed to establish a monitoring centre within India and avoid routing data through gateways in countries sharing land borders with India.
Starlink gateways
Starlink plans to build three gateways in three cities in India — Mumbai, Pune and Indore.
These gateways would connect satellites and terrestrial communication networks for data transmission between the two systems.
India’s non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites currently offer nearly 70 Gbps capacity, while geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites provide around 58 Gbps.
Meanwhile, India’s telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have collaborated with Starlink to distribute its equipment and services.
Eutelsat-OneWeb has built gateway facilities in Mehsana, Gujarat, and Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and it has nearly 636 low-earth orbit satellites.
Currently, Starlink offers satellite communication services across the globe via its 4,400 first-generation satellites and 2,500 second-generation satellites. Elon Musk led-company plans to expand to 30,000 second-generation satellites in the upcoming years.