Elon Musk’s Starlink has received approval from India’s space regulator to begin commercial operations in the country, according to sources cited by Reuters. This clears the last major regulatory hurdle for the satellite internet provider to enter the Indian market.Starlink has been awaiting permission to operate commercially in India since 2022. It secured a key licence from the telecom ministry last month, but was still waiting for clearance from the space department.With this latest approval, Starlink becomes the third company to receive permission to provide satellite internet services in India. Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio have already been given the green light to operate.Starlink must now obtain spectrum from the government, set up ground infrastructure, and carry out tests to prove it meets the agreed security standards.Musk’s Starlink and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio had earlier disagreed on how spectrum for satellite services should be allocated. The Indian government ultimately backed Starlink’s view that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
