Starlink will launch its satellite-based broadband services in India by the end of 2025, said minister of state for communications Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani in an interview with HT.
The company received a Unified License from the Department of Telecommunications in July, though it was given the final nod only after it agreed to adhere to India's strict security norms, the minister said in an interview to PTI yesterday.
As per the terms of the clearance, Starlink has been barred from replicating, decrypting, or routing Indian user traffic through systems outside India. The model mandates that all satellite communications be channeled through earth station gateways in India, which serve as crucial checkpoints for data movement.
These security protocols are obligatory on all providers of satellite communication, and Starlink has embraced them. Once regulatory approvals are in place, the company intends to roll out its services in phases, first reaching remote and underserved regions. Commercial service should begin by December 2025, subject to final spectrum assignment and infrastructure readiness.
Dr Pemmasani shared these details with HT during the 42nd Foundational Day of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) held in New Delhi. “Given the geo-political risks and the faster change of technology, institutions like C-DOT have never been of greater importance. Therefore, when it comes to AI, 6G, quantum secure communications, they are doing wonderful things,” he said.
The minister also pointed out C-DOT's wider achievements, ranging from offering secure communications to the military during Operation Sindoor to creating a cell-broadcast platform for issuing disaster warnings.
"India today is experiencing geopolitical strains not from a single, but a dual country; challenges that put our economic prowess to test on the international stage. In this respect, the Prime Minister's Independence Day speech is a reminder of why self-reliance is so important," telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal said at the ceremony.
Dr Pemmasani underlined that C-DOT is now only the fifth organization in the world, following Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and Samsung, to create an indigenous 4G and 5G stack. India's indigenous 4G and 5G technology, developed by C-DOT, now caters to almost 100,000 BSNL towers, making the country among a few nations with its own telecom infrastructure.
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