Elon Musk's Starlink on track for India entry after clearing DoT licence hurdle
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Starlink has become the latest to get a letter of intent (LoI) from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a satcom license, marking a significant step in the Elon Musk-owned company's bid to offer satellite broadband services in the world's second largest telecom market.The letter of Intent (LoI) for grant of Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit came after the US major agreed to comply with the latest security conditions issued on Monday, an official familiar with the matter said.Starlink didn't respond to ET's queries as of press time.The US major now needs to get the approval from space regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe). The company had already provided all the details needed to get this clearance, ET had reported in its February 21 edition.Once both the regulatory approvals are in, the company would likely be allocated test spectrum, for demonstrating services, officials familiar with the matter said.For launching commercial services, the company has to wait along with Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES - who have already got all clearances - for allocation of satellite spectrum from DoT. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is likely to give recommendations on pricing for administrative allocation of satellite spectrum shortly, a second official said, asking not to be named.Jezz Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper and Apple's satcom partner Globalstar are also among the global players keen to offer broadband from space services in India, a nascent market with huge growth potential, say experts.Starlink's acceptance of all required security conditions unveiled Monday came after the government, while adding a few new conditions, decided not to include a couple of proposed rules, which were discussed during consultations and which Starlink refused to accept, people aware of the details told ET.During consultations on the proposed new rules, Starlink was reluctant to commit to two requirements-one relating to special monitoring zones and the second concerning the shareholding pattern of a satcom firm. These were eventually kept out from the final set of additional security rules issued on Monday, easing the process of obtaining a GMPCS licence, the people said. ET had reported in its February 21 edition that Starlink was non-committal on the clause requiring special monitoring zones, which included 10 km across the international border and 50 km within the international border.The company had told the government that it could not provide monitoring for terminals or users located outside the sovereign territory of India, said one of the persons cited above.The DoT removed the 10 km requirement for monitoring across the international border, in the final set of conditions, while retaining the 50 km within the international border. "While the condition was proposed by law enforcement agencies, the DoT felt it can't be included as it goes against the Telegraph Act," a second person said. Starlink had also refused to agree to a proposal of a GMPCS holder having majority Indian shareholding. The clause related to shareholding pattern has been kept out of the security guidelines as DoT felt that it should be regulated as per the current foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, the person said. Rules permit 100% FDI in telecom, subject to land, border, country conditions, which Starlink had already agreed to comply with.Further, Starlink is likely to become the first satcom firm in India to offer both fixed and mobility services, as a new element has been added to the rules, specifying conditions for mobility of user terminals.Currently, satcom permit holders Bharti Group-backed OneWeb Eutelsat and Jio-SES have government nod to offer services via fixed terminals only. Approval for offering mobility services was given under the 2022 satellite reforms, with the security conditions subsequently announced for offering such services.Startlink will likely offer mobility services along with the GMPCS licence while Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES will have to seek the permission separately, a second person explained.As per the new security conditions, user terminals having mobility facilities would need to report their location every 2.6 km moved or 1-minute duration, whichever is less. These conditions have been incorporated for the first time. Earlier, only fixed service was allowed, and fixed user terminals were locked with the location.Tightening the norms, DoT has put out additional 29 security conditions which include blocking of websites, collection of metadata, having a local data centre, ensuring provisioning for NavIC-based positioning system, and committing to localising manufacturing in a phased manner.
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