Elon Musk’s Starlink Gets Final Approval To Launch Satellite Internet In India – Monthly Prices Expected Between Rs 3,000 & Rs 4,200

On July 8, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) gave Starlink the final approval to launch its satellite internet operations in India.

IN-SPACe is responsible for supervising and overseeing the private sector participation in India’s space sector.

With this nod, regulatory challenges for Starlink appear to have come to an end.

According to Moneycontrol, this development comes just weeks after Starlink received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license from the Department of Telecommunications. After Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio, Starlink becomes the third company to secure complete regulatory approval for offering satellite internet services in India.

WHICH FREQUENCY BANDS HAVE BEEN APPROVED?

The IN-SPACe approval and authorization will be valid till the first week of July 2030.

This nod also includes an allocation of specific frequency bands.

In the gateway beams, the company is allowed to operate in the:

• Uplink bands of 27.5–29.1 GHz and 29.5–30 GHz
• Downlink bands of 17.8–18.6 GHz and 18.8–19.3 GHz

These frequencies will use right-hand and left-hand circular polarisation.

For user beams, Starlink will use:

• 14.0–14.5 GHz uplink (LHCP)
• 10.7–12.7 GHz downlink (RHCP).

WHAT’S NEXT FOR STARLINK

Despite this final authorization to operate its non-Indian GSO and NGSO satellite constellations to offer satellite internet services in the country, Starlink’s commercial launch will not take place immediately.

The company, which is part of Elon Musk’s space exploration firm SpaceX, will now have to obtain spectrum from the Indian government, set up ground infrastructure like gateways, and comply with national security requirements through testing procedures.

Starlink is planning to establish at least 3 gateway stations across India. Reportedly, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will give Starlink access to a trial spectrum to demonstrate its security compliance.

According to India Today, sources say that if everything pans out as per plan, Starlink may begin providing its services in India by the end of this year or early next year.

The monthly subscription plans are expected to be between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,200.