According to company documents submitted to the government, Starlink, the satellite internet division of billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, registered operations in India on Monday, and the company is preparing to launch internet services in the country. Having a local subsidiary, Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, will allow the company to apply for the necessary licenses from the government before providing broadband and other satellite-based communications services.
“It’s great to share with you that SpaceX now has a 100% subsidiary in India,” said Sanjay Bhargava, the country director of Starlink India, in a post on LinkedIn. “We can now start applying for licenses, opening bank accounts, etc.,” Bhargava, according to his LinkedIn profile, only joined the company in October.
Starlink is one of a growing number of companies that launch small satellites as part of a low-earth orbit network to provide low-latency broadband Internet services around the world, with special attention to remote areas that are difficult to reach by terrestrial Internet infrastructure. Its competitors include Amazon’s Kuiper and OneWeb, the latter being jointly owned by the British government and India’s Bharti Enterprises.
In India, Starlink plans to “develop telecommunications services”, including satellite broadband Internet services, content storage and streaming, multimedia, and communication based on company documents. It said it will also operate equipment such as satellite phones, network equipment, wired and wireless communication equipment, and data transmission and reception equipment. According to a company profile shared by Bhargava on LinkedIn over the weekend, Starlink said it will focus on “promoting rural development in India” through its broadband service.
Once approved to provide services, Starlink will provide 100 free devices to schools in Delhi and nearby rural areas in the first phase. Then, it will target 12 rural areas in India. The company stated in the presentation that the company’s goal is to have 200,000 Starlink devices in India by December 2022, 80% of which will be in rural areas. Starlink has received pre-orders for more than 5,000 devices in India.
News Source : Gadgets 360
