The government is said to be fast-tracking the application of Elon Musk-owned Starlink for a satcom licence, despite pending issues such as its ties with US security agencies. The Elon Musk-owned company may be given “conditional approval”, based on an undertaking furnished by it, said people with knowledge of the matter.
“As per the undertaking, Starlink may be asked to not share with any US agency the machines or equipment used in India, while data should not be routed outside the country,” one of the persons told ET, asking not to be named. Further, the satcom company may be asked to partner with an Indian company in atime-bound manner. This comes as Musk is set to travel to India later this month and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with plans for a Tesla factory expected to be announced.
An internal committee of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working on the Starlink application. Since some of the issues, including those related to Starlink’s collaboration with American intelligence agencies, remain open, the company can only be granted conditional approval, the people said.
“The Digital Communication Commission (DCC) is likely to take up the Starlink case shortly to decide if conditional approval can be given,” said one of the persons.
Safeguards to be put in place
The DCC is an inter-ministerial panel and the DoT’s highest decision making body. The DoT secretary is chairman of the panel, which also includes secretaries of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion as well as the NITI Aayog CEO.
SpaceX didn’t respond to ET’s queries. Proper safeguards will be put in place in the event of conditional approval and a full-fledged licence will be given only after the company meets all the terms, said another person.Starlink has assured the government that it will provide satcom connectivity to certain rural and farflung areas “free of cost” under government schemes such as the one under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), said the first person cited above.
The key pending issue though is the need for clarity from Starlink on its shareholding, including investments or contracts from US security agencies. The company had applied for the global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence in October 2022.
Potential rivals such as Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satcom venture already have GMPCS permits. Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, too, has applied for a licence for its Project Kuiper satellite broadband venture.
Earlier, Starlink had replied to queries on whether it had any investments by entities in neighbouring countries such as China and Pakistan. It replied that none of its investors were from countries sharing a land border with India. The government had accepted that declaration.
Prior government approval has been made compulsory since 2020 for investments from countries sharing a land border with India. Also, foreign investors need to share complete shareholding details with the government.
Starlink, however, did not reveal full shareholding details of parent SpaceX. US privacy laws bar it from making full disclosure of this information as it’s unlisted, the company said.But the issue of links to American security agencies has delayed final approval. “The Indian government had sought clarity if there is some arrangement between SpaceX, the parent firm of Starlink, and the American security agencies to collaborate,” said a third person aware of the details.
SpaceX has a project called Starshield that provides a secured satellite network for government entities. As per SpaceX, Starshield leverages Starlink technology and launch capabilities to support national security efforts.While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use,” according to the SpaceX website.
Recently, reports emerged that SpaceX was building a network of spy satellites for US intelligence as part of a classified contract worth over $1 billion.
Some of Starlink’s activities may be governed by US secrecy laws, said a person with knowledge of the matter. That could have “an impact on India’s national security,” the person said.The Musk-owned satcom venture has separately applied to space regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) –in addition to the GMPCS application--to get the necessary approvals for starting satcom services in India. This is pending.
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