India to Starlink: Comply with rules before entering market

NEW DELHI: Starlink is yet to receive clearance to launch services in India as it has not agreed to comply with regulations requiring satellite internet providers to set up domestic infrastructure, a senior govt official said Wednesday, sending a tough message to tech trillionaire Elon Musk that in order to do business in India he will have to abide by the law of the land.

Govt has no objection to the satellite internet provider rolling out its services once it addresses security concerns and agrees to establish local base stations before it can offer services in India, sources said. A base station is a radio transmitter and receiver that acts as a local hub, or the "first hop", connecting end-user devices to a wireless network. The requirement to set up "base stations" will help authorities to secure compliance with laws.Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio and Musk's Starlink are the three entities planning to start satellite communication services in India.Significantly, another message to Musk that he cannot expect to be an exception to the law came from Bharti Enterprises chairperson Sunil Bharti Mittal, who said Airtel's Eutelsat OneWeb satellite service might receive regulatory approvals ahead of Starlink, as it is "way ahead" in the approval queue, having applied nearly five years ago.

He added that he will be "very happy" to get it at least a few days before Starlink.Mittal: Ahead of Musk in queue for approvalBharti Enterprises chairperson Sunil Bharti Mittal on Tuesday said his company deserved to get approval to start a satellite internet service before Elon Musk’s Starlink as Airtel’s Eutelsat OneWeb had submitted its application earlier.“I am significantly ahead in the queue from him. I applied five years back. I have my ground networks ready for three years. My satellites have been hovering over India for last five years... We will be happy to get it at least a few days before him,” said Mittal at Bloomberg New Economy Forum, in response to a query soliciting his views on Musk’s recent tirade, as he accused Indian telecom providers of preventing Starlink from entering the Indian market.Govt has denied Musk’s charge that Starlink was being discriminated against at the instance of a “local oligarch”.