Elon Musk has again made it clear that he will deliver Starlink, a high-speed satellite internet service, to the Indian market which he considers very important for the global connectivity. He was so excited after the meeting between the Indian government officials and Starlink’s senior leadership that he went to his social media page and said “Looking forward to serving India with @Starlink!” This confirms the company will go through the regulatory process and is setting up operations in one of the fastest growing digital economies in the world.
Officials talked about how satellite technology could transform India and help create a digital superpower. Starlink will use the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to connect regions that are remote, underserved, and hard to reach.
Besides that, the company will not have to worry about the costs or difficulties of laying traditional fiber-optic cables. Starlink is targeting the “last-mile” connectivity gap and thus becoming the main facilitator for e-governance, online education, and telemedicine across rural India.
Bridging the Rural Digital Divide
The Starlink’s LEO satellite network deployment is mainly intended to close the rural digital gap. There are still huge areas of rural India, especially in the Himalayas and the islands, that are struggling with poor or no broadband access at all.
Starlink’s network, which needs just a user terminal and an unobstructed view of the sky, is ideally fit for quick setups in these hard-to-reach places.
The high-speed and low-latency internet at the doorstep of the rural population is a revolutionary development since such areas will not only be able to access the digital economy but also get through the online services that are crucial for them and remain unavailable so far.
Navigating Regulatory Hurdles
Even though there is a noticeable technological potential and Musk’s eagerness, the way to the commercial launch still requires overcoming the regulatory challenges.
Starlink has been granted important licenses, among which is the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license, but the government’s allocation of satellite spectrum remains the last step.
The discussion among regulators is about how the spectrum should be allocated through administration or auction which will determine the operating model and total cost structure for Starlink as well as for its rivals. The authorities’ final agreement is impatiently looked forward to by the company as well as by the millions of potential users in unserved areas.
Also Read: Starlink Calls India Pricing a ‘Glitch’, Says It Was Just Dummy Data, Leaving Users In Suspense
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
