The Indian government reportedly gave SpaceX’s Starlink conditional approval to launch its broadband offering, as the Elon Musk entity moved closer to being allowed to operate commercial services.
Indian business news channel CNBC-TV18 reported the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued letter of intent to Starlink, a sign the green light is imminent.
The outlet noted the DoT issued the same letter to Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications before distributing operating licences.
SpaceX has been attempting to gain a foothold in India since 2022, however it faced roadblocks from the government over security concerns and opposition from the nation’s traditional operators.
Musk and Reliance Industries boss Mukesh Ambani even clashed over the issue, after the Indian billionaire appeared to call on politicians to auction spectrum for satellite services rather than allocating the airwaves.
Ambani argued an auction should have been held instead of handing out licences to players like SpaceX, which could create an uneven playing field.
However, SpaceX has since signed deals with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to launch Starlink services, suggesting any issues had been addressed.