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NEW DELHI: Elon Musk‘s Starlink looks set to clear the final regulatory hurdle for beginning satcom services in India. IN-SPACethe nodal agency under the department of space (DoS), is likely to grant approval to the company for launching commercial satellite broadband services.The inter-ministerial standing committee of IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), which includes members from the DoS, I&B, DoT, MHA, MEA, and commerce and industry ministries, will be taking up Starlink’s agenda in its next meeting.“Broadly, the approval for satellite will be given to Starlink as the ministries of home and external affairs – which are the key decision-makers on matters of security and geopolitical situation – have already approved the company’s proposal at the department of telecom (DoT),” a top source told TOI.
The DoT issued a letter of intent (LoI) to Starlink on May 7, finally approving its application for a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence.“DoT’s LoI means that any concerns around security and other strategic matters have already been addressed by the company and vetted by key agencies. We thus expect the IN-SPACe approval to come very soon, over the coming weeks,” the source said.IN-SPACe, is a single-window, independent, nodal agency that functions as an autonomous agency in the department of space.While Starlink comes close to getting all regulatory approvals, govt has kickstarted process of allotting spectrum to satcom companies, which include satcom JVs and investments of local Reliance Jio and Airtel.
