Starlink Gets Indian Government’s Green Light, Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Ready To Launch In India

New Delhi: Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, has received a special license from the Indian government. The license is called GMPCS, which stands for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite. This approval means Starlink can now offer internet services across India using satellites.

The license was given by India’s Department of Telecommunications. Starlink is now the third company to receive this kind of license in India. The other two are OneWeb, which is backed by Eutelsat, and Reliance Jio. This marks the official entry of Elon Musk into the Indian communications market.

Starlink had first tried to start operations in India back in 2021. At that time, it had started taking pre-orders from customers. But it did not have the required license yet. The Indian government asked the company to return the money to customers and stop taking new orders.

Now that it has the license, Starlink can move forward. The company already provides satellite internet in more than 125 countries. It sends internet signals from space, using satellites that orbit the Earth. This kind of service is very helpful in places where regular internet lines, like fiber cables, are hard to set up.

Satellite internet works well in villages, hilly areas, forests, and places hit by natural disasters. It brings fast internet to people living in far-off locations where other internet services are not available or are too expensive.

Other companies are also interested in the Indian market. Amazon’s Kuiper, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, is still waiting for approval. Globalstar, a partner of Apple, is also planning to join the market.

In March 2025, India’s top telecom companies, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, said they would work with Starlink to offer satellite internet. This shows that satellite internet is becoming an important part of India’s digital future.