India Grants Starlink Operating Licence, Paving Way for Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Venture

 Elon Musk’s Starlink has secured a crucial licence to commence commercial operations in India, marking a significant step forward for the satellite internet provider’s long-anticipated entry into the world’s most populous nation, according to two sources cited by Reuters on Friday.

The authorisation from India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) comes at a pivotal time for Musk, amid escalating tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump that could jeopardise an estimated $22 billion in SpaceX’s government contracts. The clearance positions Starlink as the third satellite operator to receive such a nod in India, following approvals granted to OneWeb—backed by Eutelsat—and Reliance Jio.

Neither Starlink nor the DoT responded to Reuters' requests for comment. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the development, which removes a key regulatory roadblock for Starlink’s Indian ambitions.

The licensing milestone follows Musk’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to the United States earlier this year. Discussions reportedly included Starlink’s deployment plans in India and New Delhi’s concerns around national security and compliance conditions.

Despite this progress, Starlink must still navigate a series of regulatory and operational hurdles before it can roll out services commercially. According to a third source familiar with the matter, the company is nearing approval from India’s space regulator—another essential step in the multi-layered clearance process.

“Following this, Starlink will need to obtain spectrum allocation from the government, establish ground infrastructure, and undergo rigorous testing to meet the security conditions it has agreed to,” said one of the sources. “This process is expected to take several months.”

Only after fulfilling all these requirements will Starlink be permitted to begin selling equipment and offering services to Indian customers.

In an unexpected development earlier this year, Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel announced plans to stock Starlink hardware in their retail outlets—despite being direct competitors in the broadband space. Notably, Musk and Jio Chairman Mukesh Ambani had previously been at odds over how India should assign spectrum for satellite services. The Indian government ultimately supported Musk’s stance that spectrum should be administratively allocated rather than auctioned.

In May, India’s telecom regulator proposed a 4% revenue-sharing model for satellite service providers, a move that domestic telecom operators have criticised as disproportionately low and potentially detrimental to their market positions.

According to Deloitte, India’s satellite broadband market is projected to be worth $1.9 billion by 2030—making it a lucrative target for Starlink, as well as Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which is still awaiting licensing approval.

Reporting by Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra; additional reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru. Edited by Jane Merrman, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Philippa Fletcher, and Barbara Lewis.