Starlink owned by Elon Musk is getting itself on the wrong side of the federal Indian government. In an unparalleled move, the Department of Telecommunications requested citizens to stop applying for beta connections to the firm’s satellite-based internet connections.
The federal department to its Twitter handles to express to people that the firm has not been sanctioned to provide such internet connections in India. It questioned Starlink, an internet assemblage run by Musk’s SpaceX, to stop accepting requests for its internet services in India.
The department further explained in the tweet that “for interpretation satellite-based services in India, license is compulsory from DOT are essential” which the firm does not have and consequently is not permitted to function in the business of providing internet services.
According to the tweet “Government of India has requested the firm to observe with Indian governing outline for rendering the satellite-based communication services and refrain from booking/rendering the satellite internet services in India with immediate effect.”
Though asking people to not apply from an unofficial thing, the ministry said, “Public is instructed not to subscribe to Starlink facilities being promoted.” “It’s herewith up-to-date to the public at huge that the supposed firm Starlink Internet has not gained any licence/authorisation for execution of the satellite-based internet services that are being reserved on their website,” it added.
Starlink and India
SpaceX sponsored Starlink had selected Sanjay Bhargava as its Country Director. He was freshly exposed that the firm has over 5000 requests from within the country and had freshly set up an Indian subsidiary named Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited or SSCPL.
The order from the telecom ministry could come as a discourteous surprise to the users. However, Bhargava, in his new post on LinkedIn publicised the setting up of the limited local entity and also discovered that SSPL will start put on for licenses, open bank accounts etc.
In one of his previous posts, he was gotten influenced by people to apply for Starlink’s satellite connection in the country and to evade the waitlist. Potential users are mandatory to pay $99 upfront on its official website.
We have reached out to Sanjay Bhargav and COAI for their replies on this governmental issue and will definitely bring a new article with any answers that we collect from Sanjay.
Previously we had conveyed that Starlink had its highlights set on providing satellite internet in India starting December 2022. The firm was allegedly in touch with the government agencies to carry internet connectivity to 10 rural Lok Sabha constituencies in the upcoming 2022 elections. The firm aims to go live with over 2 lakh active terminals in the country.
This could someway also help hand for Indian Prime Minister Modi’s determined Digital India mission, however, blatantly in contradiction of the Vocal for Local and the mantra of going self-sufficient.
Space wars for the internet
Quite a lot of firms including SpaceX’s Starlink, Bharti Global-backed OneWeb and Project Kuiper by Amazon are in a battle to beam high-speed wireless internet connectivity from outer Space. Multifaceted and exclusive that it may sound, satellite-based internet is possibly the hastiest way to join people in the remotest and the hardest terrains on the planet.
Though, when it comes to India, the mandatory sanctions and authorisations might be a complicated thing and Elon Musk is undergoing this first hand primarily with Tesla and now with Starlink.
A non-profit making organization, Telecom Watchdog, had freshly demanded the TRAI official to interfere and halt Starlink from accepting pre-booking of satellite internet. Considering it an unlawful action, the regulator required the controller to “file an unlawful case under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code+ against the firm for cheating.”
The recent statement from the Telecom ministry looks to have come in reply to the appeal of Telecom Watchdog. Even the telecom firms had raised up a panic warning over the “backdoor entry” of Elon Musk’s Starlink last year after he tweeted about Starlink services going live in India by 2021.
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