Big update on satellite internet in India, Elon Musk's Starlink set to get...

Satellite internet services in India will soon be a reality as Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal's Bharti-backed OneWeb have received a license from the Department of Telecom, Government of India. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister for Communications, has said that now Elon Musk's Starlink will be the third satellite internet company to be given a license for providing services in the country. "In the coming days, the third license will be provided," he said, referring to Starlink, ANI reported. 

Once licenses are given, the minister said the spectrum would be allocated to them. "And after this, the government will provide the spectrum. Subsequently, satellite telecom services will be fully operational in the country at a rapid pace. I am sure the customer base in India will grow substantially," the minister added. "Starlink's satellite connectivity is like a new flower in the telecom bouquet," he said, explaining the progress of the telecom ecosystem in the country.

Recently, Airtel and Jio have also partnered with Starlink to bring the latter's high-speed satellite internet services to their customers in India. Starlink will use Airtel and Jio's strong dealership network to sell and promote its services.

Internet penetration in India

The minister asserted that internet penetration can only be increased through satellite communication services, especially in remote areas where laying wires and installing towers would be difficult. Satellite telecom in India will help the country provide much-needed services in remote interior places where conventional telecom services tend to be costly.

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Starlink provides internet by sending radio signals from ground stations up to a large network of satellites orbiting close to Earth, which then beam the data back to users on the ground. Starlink has been given time until June 7 to meet compliance requirements after receiving a Letter of Intent (LoI) on May 7, a senior government official told Moneycontrol.