Starlink gets India licence for satcom services

New Delhi: Elon Musk's Starlink has received a licence from the Telecom department for providing satellite internet services in India, a key milestone that will take it closer towards launching commercial operations in the country.

Starlink is the third company after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to get a licence from the Department of Telecommunications to provide satellite internet services in the country. A fourth applicant, Amazon's Kuiper is still waiting for approvals.

DoT sources confirmed on Friday that Starlink has indeed received the licence, and said the company will be granted trial spectrum in 15-20 days of applying for it.

Starlink will now have to comply with the security norms such as providing access for lawful interception, before starting services.

The licence came hours after a huge public spat between Musk and US President Donald Trump. The falling-out between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful person began when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.