Elon Musk’s Satellite Communications Venture Star Link is facing uncertainty even before the launch. While we were all in high hopes with the news flashing regarding the expected contribution of Starlink in the development of rural constituencies in the country, the company was awaiting approval from The Government.

The Indian population was in throes of excitement as there was an announcement recently regarding two vacancies in the Indian venture. All hopes are currently on the rise as there have been promising developments. The company was in the process of acquiring approvals from the Government. Starlink had started accepting pre-orders concerning the beta version of the satellite broadband service. The deposit (refundable) was fixed at approximately Rs 7500.

It was at this stage that the Department of Telecommunications ordered the Elon Musk venture to hit the pause button on pre-orders as it had not yet received the local licenses required to conduct business in India. Starlink had received almost 5000 preorders from October 2021 and may now  be required to refund all the customers. The public was also notified to prevent further collections.

Excerpts from the Statement Of DoT

It has come to notice that M/s Starlink has started pre-selling/ booking of the satellite-based Starlink Internet Services in India. The same is also evident from the website of Starlink (www.starlink.com) wherein satellite-based Internet services can be booked by users in Indian territory” “It is hereby informed to the public at large that the said company has not obtained any license authorisation for rendering satellite-based Internet services that are being booked on their website.” “Given the fact that Starlink is not a licensee, the public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised.

TRAI follows suit

Following this notification from DoT, TRAI (the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has now issued a directive asking Starlink to desist from accepting pre-orders. All this adds to the uncertainty of the future of Starlink in India.

Starlink Internet Services is required to desist from soliciting telecom business and collecting related fees etc, without having received necessary authorisation and adhering to relevant statutory provisions.

And StarLink Says…

With all these speculations going around, what does the company have to say? Well, The website now says: –

Starlink is not yet available in your area but as we launch more satellites, we continue to expand our coverage area. Please check back for future availability in your area.

Sanjay Bhargava, Business Head of India had earlier mentioned in a LinkedIn post that there are a few uncertainties related to when the services would be rolling out in India, however it is expected to begin in 2022.

There are currently unknowns on when you may get your Starlink but please pay careful consideration to whether Starlink could just be the broadband solution you need, Bhargava noted.

It now seems that Indian subscribers are in for a guessing game and will have to wait till the company sorts out the restrictive measures imposed currently. Stay tuned till we have more updates on this unexpected holdup.