Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture, Starlink, has approved the final regulator barrier to start operations in India. According to several reports, India’s Space Regulatory, In-space (Indian National Space Promotion and Authority Center) has approved the company, causing a move to offer satellite-based internet services in the country. It is a major milestone for Starlink, which has been officially awaited to launch in India from 2022. The company had already received a global mobile individual communication from the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) from the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) last month. Now, with the approval of the in-space, Starlink has a green light to proceed with its rollout plan.

The license from the in-space allows Starlink to operate its Gen1 satellite constellation on India. As reported by Moneycontrol, the authority is valid till July 7, 2030. As part of the approval, the in-space has also approved the specific frequency band for use: for the gateway beam, the Starlinks can use 27.5-29.1 GHz and 29.5-30 GHz uplink bands, and 17.8–18 polarization. For the user beam, the approved band contains 14.0–14.5 GHz for the uplink (LHCP) and 10.7–12.7 GHz for the Downlink (RHCP). In simple terms, this means that Starlink now has the official permission to use specific satellite signs to send and receive internet data from its users and its ground stations.

But receiving this approval does not mean that Starlink can start services immediately. The company still needs to conduct complete tests from the Government of India to secure spectrum, establish ground stations and meet safety requirements. It is planning to construct at least three gateway stations across the country as part of its setup.

Starlink is also expected to start a test soon. The Department of Telecommunications is allegedly going to offer trial spectrum so that the company can showcase that it meets India’s technical and safety standards before full commercial launch.

In the last one year, Starlink has been in the midst of a policy debate in India. While Starlink pushed for spectrum allocation without auction, rival telecom companies – especially Reliance Jio – argued that the government should auction the spectrum instead. Finally, the Government of India supported Starlink’s approach and proceeded with administrative allocation.

Interestingly, the Moneycontrol report also mentions that Starlink has already signed some early commercial deals with the VSAT (very small aperture terminal) providers in India. This shows that the company can target businesses and government services before rolling out internet services to consumers first.

With this latest approval, Starlink incorporates UTALST OneWeb and Reliance Jio as the only companies with complete regulatory withdrawal to offer satellite internet in India.