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Time of India
11-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Stay tuned! India may soon get satcom services by year-end; Starlink, Jio-SES, Eutelsat secures final nod
NEW DELHI: India may see the first commercial rollout of satellite communication services by December, as Starlink, Reliance Jio-SES, and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb have received all necessary approvals to begin operations. Industry executives say that while infrastructure has long been in place, spectrum allotment delays have prevented these players from launching earlier, costing India both revenue and its potential to become a regional satcom hub. Earlier on Wednesday, Starlink became the third company to receive a commercial go-ahead from space regulator IN-SPACe, after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES. "Trai had given its recommendation in May. DoT (Department of Telecommunications) typically takes 2 to 3 months on the outer side to come back with its recommendations and present it to the DCC (Digital Communications Commission)," an official from a satellite communications organisation that possesses all necessary authorisations told ET. "Once the DCC approves them, it needs to be vetted by the Cabinet. Then the DoT needs to come out with its rules for allotment. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo Optimistically, the government is likely to be in a position to give spectrum by October," the official added. Two industry executives said that once the spectrum is allotted, it would take about a month to roll out commercial services. "So basically, a month from then, services can be launched. We are looking at a November end-December timeline (for launch of commercial services) at an optimistic level," ET noted quoting officials. The three companies have now secured all necessary approvals to provide space services, with Starlink recently obtaining its GMPCS licence. Meanwhile, Amazon Kuiper and Globalstar (Apple's satcom partner) continue to await regulatory clearances from Indian authorities. India's space economy shows significant promise, with projections from IN-SPACe indicating potential growth to $44 billion by 2033, representing approximately 8% of global market share. The annual satellite communication revenue opportunity stands at $1 billion. The Department of Telecommunications will establish pricing and regulations for satellite spectrum allocation through administrative means, following Trai's recommendations. This decision came after intense disagreements between telecommunications companies advocating spectrum auctions and satellite companies preferring administrative allocation. "We don't believe any of the players will have any head start in launching commercial services, Since Airtel and Jio are also partners of Starlink, we expect all three (Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES) to start at the same time, because that makes sense from a technical, commercial and a compliance standpoint," Rohan Dhamija, partner & head of India & Middle East at Analysys Mason told ET. Both Jio and Bharti Airtel, with the latter's parent company holding significant stake in Eutelsat OneWeb, maintain marketing arrangements with Starlink. Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES were earlier granted trial spectrum by the DoT to test their services and demonstrate them to security agencies. Starlink is also expected to receive trial spectrum soon to validate its security compliance. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Stay tuned, satcom services may come to you by year-end
Mumbai | New Delhi: Satellite communication services could be commercially launched in India by December, according to industry executives, with three major players - Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb , Reliance Jio-SES and Elon Musk-owned Starlink - having secured the necessary permits and clearances and the government working on finalising terms of allocating spectrum. "Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) had given its recommendation in May. The DoT (Department of Telecommunications) typically takes two to three months on the outer side to come back with its recommendations and present it to the DCC (Digital Communications Commission)," a senior executive at one of the satcom companies, which has secured all the permits, said on condition of anonymity. "Once the DCC gives its approval, it needs to be vetted by the cabinet. Then the DoT needs to come out with its rules for allotment. Optimistically, the government is likely to be in a position to give spectrum by October." After spectrum allotment, it would take around a month to start commercial services, according to two executives. "We are looking at a November-end or December timeline (for launch of commercial services) at an optimistic level," said the first executive. Eutelsat OneWeb, Jio-SES and Starlink didn't respond to ET's queries. On Wednesday, US-based Starlink became the third satcom operator after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio-SES JV to get a clearance from the space regulator, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), to start commercial satcom services in the country. Starlink received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit last month. Two other global satcom services firms - Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper and Apple's satcom partner Globalstar - are awaiting approvals from the Indian authorities. India's space economy has a potential to hit $44 billion by 2033 and account for about 8% of the global share, as per IN-SPACe. The country's annual satcom business revenue opportunity is pegged at $1 billion. The DoT is expected to finalise pricing and rules for allocating satellite spectrum administratively, having receiving recommendations from Trai after a bitter fight between telcos, which wanted the satcom spectrum to be auctioned, and satcom companies such as Starlink and Amazon Kuiper, which wanted the airwaves to be allotted administratively. The government and Trai have since decided on administrative allocation. "We don't believe any of the players will have a head start in launching commercial services. Since Airtel and Jio are also partners of Starlink, we expect all three (Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES) to start at the same time because that makes sense from a technical, commercial and a compliance standpoint," said Rohan Dhamija, partner and head of India & Middle East at Analysys Mason. Jio and Bharti Airtel, part of the Bharti Group, which is a large shareholder in Eutelsat OneWeb, have marketing tie-ups with Starlink. Conceding that Jio-SES and Eutelsat OneWeb have lost out on the chance for a head start in offering satcom in India, a senior executive at one of the two firms said India also lost out in the process.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's Starlink gets approval to start operations in India, but with a 'expiry date' for now
Elon Musk 's satellite internet service Starlink has cleared its final regulatory hurdle for launching commercial broadband in India. Starlink has now received the important approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe). After this final approval, Starlink becomes the third satcom operator after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES joint venture, to receive all the necessary clearances for operating in the Indian market. Starlink's Starlink's Gen 1 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, which comprises 4,408 satellites capable of delivering 600 Gbps throughput across India. Last month, Starlink obtained its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit. Starlink's India approval comes with an expiry date The satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has cleared all the regulatory hurdles, but till the company will have to wait for the full-scale commercial launch of its service. Like the other competitors, Starlink will also have to mandatorily procure trial spectrum and meet security compliances set by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) before being allowed to start its services commercially. Eutelsat OneWeb and the Jio-SES JV received their trial spectrums last year and they also received an extension of six months. Now both the operators are waiting for their final security compliance approval. DoT is also expected to issue trial spectrum to Starlink. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo On the basis of TRAI's recommendations, DoT is also expected to soon finalize pricing and allocation rules for satellite spectrum. TRAI has proposed an administrative allocation model with a 4% fee on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for five years. Urban users may face an additional ₹500 per subscriber annually, while rural users are exempt. Starlink in India may face hurdles However, a widespread adoption for Starlink in India may face hurdles, particularly concerning hardware costs. Globally, Starlink's hardware kits range from $250 (approx. Rs 21,300) to $380 (approx. Rs 32,400). This represents a significant upfront investment compared to existing Indian home broadband offerings, which typically feature much lower hardware costs, provide speeds up to 1 Gbps, and often bundle Over-The-Top (OTT) app subscriptions. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Starlink secures one more approval as it inches toward operations in India
Starlink on Tuesday received an authorisation to operate its broadband satellite constellation over India from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the body revealed in an update to its website on Wednesday. IN-SPACe comes under the Department of Space. This is the second major approval that Starlink has received in India, after it received a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation last month from the Department of Telecommunications. While Starlink in particular and satellite broadband in general have been an object of fascination and interest by the government, security and ownership concerns among government officials have posed significant barriers to the firm starting operations in India. Shortly before issuing Starlink a GMPCS authorisation, the DoT issued a list of additional security conditions for satellite broadband operators, requiring them to disallow Indian-registered satellite broadband connections from working abroad and vice versa. The IN-SPACe authorisation remains, however, a step in the right direction for the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, which runs Starlink. The constellation would be able to immediately beam an internet connection to spots in rural and remote regions where even faint mobile coverage is not available. While the overall volume of spectrum available to Starlink and its pricing — estimated to be around ₹60,000 for the hardware, and ₹3,500 in monthly fees, before accounting for government levies that may push up the price — make it a tricky proposition at scale, the government has spoken of leveraging satellite internet in remote government offices. The IN-SPACe authorisation grants Starlink gateways permission to operate uplink frequencies in the 27.5-29.1 and 29.5-30 gigahertz (GHz) bands, and downlink beams in 17.8-18.6 and 18.8-19.3 GHz. Individual users will connect up in 14.0-14.5 GHz and 10.7-12.7 GHz. The assignment of this spectrum by the DoT remains pending, before which commercial operations will not be able to start. In the neighbourhood, Starlink is already available in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the latter having approved it this month.
India Gazette
09-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Starlink gets necessary clearance from India's space regulator
ANI 09 Jul 2025, 21:38 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): Elon Musk-owned satellite communication firm Starlink has received clearance from the Indian space regulator, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), sources said on Wednesday. In early June, Starlink was provided with license by the government to launch GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) services, VSAT Services and ISP Category-A under unified license. Starlink is the third company to receive approval for satellite communication (satcom) services from the Department of Telecom, following OneWeb and Reliance Jio. Recently, Airtel and Jio have partnered with Starlink to bring the latter's high-speed satellite internet services to their customers in India. Starlink will utilise Airtel and Jio's extensive dealer network to sell and promote its services. Satellite telecom in India will help the country provide much-needed services in remote interior places where conventional telecom services tend to be costly. Starlink's imminent launch comes as India continues to push for digital inclusion and improved internet connectivity across its vast geographical expanse, particularly in areas where traditional internet service providers have struggled to establish reliable networks. (ANI)
