India ready to welcome every satcom player as long as they check all the boxes: Scindia on Starlink's entry

India ready to welcome every satcom player as long as they check all the boxes: Scindia on Starlink's entry

India is ready to welcome every satellite communication player as long as they check all the boxes, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told CNN-NEWS18 about Starlink's entry into the country.

"India will be largest satcom market in the world. We have highest level of penetration and connectivity. Satcom not a competitor, it is a compliment. It enables you to reach where no technology can reach. It will be vital in natural disasters where normal communication is down. It is addition to bouquet of communication capabilities. This (Starlink) is the third license being given out in India, others also in queue. Spectrum to be given on a administratively assigned system, price to be determined by regulatory authority," said Scindia.

Starlink is the third company to get a licence from Department of Telecommunications, which has approved similar applications by Eutelsat's OneWeb and Reliance Jio to provide services in the country.

India's telecom regulator in May proposed satellite service providers pay 4% of their annual revenue to the government for offering services.

Deloitte predicts India's satellite broadband service market will be worth $1.9 billion by 2030, making it lucrative for players like Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper, which is still awaiting a licence.

Starlink, which plans to have three gateways in India, had been waiting for a licence for three to four years.

The government thoroughly vetted SpaceX’s Starlink and mandated strict security measures, such as implementing lawful interception capabilities and establishing a local command and control centre.

Kuiper plans to build significant satcom capacity in India, with plans for 10 gateways and two points of presence in Mumbai and Chennai, compared to Starlink’s three gateways. Eutelsat-OneWeb and Jio-SES each have two gateways.

Kuiper, which has launched 27 satellites as part of its Project Kuiper to provide broadband services globally, still lacks coverage in India.