New Delhi: Elon Musk’s satellite internet venture Starlink has received approval from India’s space regulator, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), marking a major step toward launching its commercial operations in the country.

With this, the final regulatory hurdle for the cheaper internet service to start rolling its commercial satellite broadband operations in the country has been cleared, according to the IN-SPACe final authorisation document for Starlink seen by IANS.

Before launching full-scale operations, Starlink will need to secure spectrum allocation from the Indian government and set up ground infrastructure. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to issue trial spectrum to the company to conduct security compliance tests.

Starlink has already signed its first commercial agreements with Indian VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) providers, which deliver satellite internet services in remote and underserved areas with limited access to traditional connectivity.

The affordable satellite-based internet service Starlink is now set to roll out in the country in a few months.

While the groundwork is nearly complete, some technical and procedural steps remain before the service can be launched in a few months.

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said last week that all due diligence has been completed from their end for the entry of SpaceX’s Starlink service in India, and once they receive the necessary regulatory and licensing approvals from the space regulator, they can roll out the service in the country whenever they wish to.

The space regulator had earlier issued a draft letter of intent (LOI) to the company.

Starlink provides internet through a network of satellites orbiting Earth. The company currently operates the world’s largest constellation of satellites, with more than 6,750 in orbit. Starlink services are already available in several countries, including Mongolia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Jordan, Yemen, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka. IANS