Along with IN-SPACe approval, Starlink will need an operator’s licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) besides spectrum for starting services in the country.
People aware of the details told ET that while Starlink has agreed to a majority of the key provisions for securing a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence, there are certain points on which the company is noncommittal. Starlink is said to have agreed to comply with the provision of shifting, or relocation, of user terminals.
The terminals are bound to geolocation based on where a subscriber opts for the service, and any shifting will only be allowed by the operator after proper authorisation, one of the persons said. Any shifting of the user terminal won’t be permitted at the user level.
While the conditions for geolocation were to be reviewed, the government decided that any attempt at the user level for relocation must be forbidden. “Starlink has also agreed to set up its network control and monitoring centre in India and it also won’t be routing data through gateways in countries sharing land borders (with India),” the person said.
Musk’s company currently does not have any gateway in India’s landborder countries. But the company has committed that in future, if it sets up gateways in those countries, India-generated data won’t be routed through them, the person said. Starlink, however, has yet to agree to setting up monitoring zones across India’s international borders and provisioning services across the country, including certain areas of J&K and Ladakh. “Starlink has told the government that it would not provide monitoring of terminals or users located outside the sovereign territory of India,” the person said.
Current rules stipulate companies to provide monitoring facilities for 10 kilometres across international borders to law enforcement agencies (LEAs). “The government will take a call if relaxation can be given on this condition based on inputs from LEAs before a final decision is taken (on grant of GMPCS license to Starlink),” the person said.
Starlink did not respond to ET’s email queries. ET had earlier reported that some of the proposed changes may have serious security implications. For instance, the shifting of user terminals at user level may have allowed a person to buy a fixed terminal at one place and use it at another, with the company having little control over the exercise. “But now a decision has been taken that user level relocation should be forbidden,” a second person said.
Besides regulatory requirements, a fierce battle is playing out with Starlink and Amazon Kuiper on one side–who want spectrum allocation without auctions–and private telecom operators on the other. The telcos–Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea– are seeking allocation of airwaves to the highest bidder. The government, though, has made it clear that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively, or without auctions, but for a charge.
