Starlink : The rhetoric between the Indian government and Musk regarding Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and its satellite internet service Starlink has intensified. Musk had alleged that some business interests in India were obstructing the licenses required for Starlink’s services. In response to this, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clearly said on Friday that India will not allow monopoly in any field. Rejecting the allegations of stopping Starlink’s satellite internet service, the government said that every company providing satellite communication services in the country will have to fulfill all the necessary security related conditions. Scindia said that no special benefit is being given to any one company and the licensing process is going on as per the rules for all the companies.
Three companies have received license
Scindia said that only one company has not been given license in the field of satellite communication. At present, three companies including Reliance Jio, OneWeb and Starlink have the license. Apart from this, Amazon is also showing interest in entering this sector and it will have to follow the prescribed procedure. The minister said that there is continuous discussion about Starlink, but the actual situation is that three companies have already obtained the license. The objective of the government is not to give special position to any one company in the market, but to ensure equal opportunity for all the companies as per the rules.
Decision pending on price and safety rules (Starlink)
Scindia said that the process regarding spectrum allocation and its pricing for satellite communication services is progressing. Instead of auctioning spectrum, it has been decided to do administrative allocation. Now after this allocation, discussions are going on between TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications to finalize the tariff and pricing arrangements. Along with this, it will be necessary for all licensed companies to follow safety rules. Scindia clarified that each operator including Starlink will have to fulfill the necessary security related requirements separately. Only after the completion of these processes will companies be able to start their services on a commercial level.
Read also: Underwater Archaeology: Clue of ancient city found in Bay of Bengal
The government rejected Musk’s allegations (Starlink)
Musk had alleged that powerful business interests were blocking Starlink’s path despite spending years complying with Indian regulations. However, the Communications Ministry has rejected these allegations. According to the government, all three licensed operators are at almost the same regulatory stage and the process of safety assessment of all is underway. After completing the necessary processes, each company can proceed to the next stage of spectrum allocation. The government says that competition in the field of satellite internet in India will proceed only on the basis of rules and security requirements.