New licensing trouble for Elon Musk-owned Starlink, here’s what may delay the launch

Elon Musk-owned Starlink was previously reported to be on the verge of receiving approval to provide voice and data communication services from space in India. However, as per the latest development, its satcom services in the country may get delayed due to a licensing problem.
As per a report by The Economic Times, the communications ministry has sought clarity from the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) before giving approval for the start of services.
According to the foreign investment policy set by DPIIT in 2020, a foreign investor must share complete shareholding details to check if there are any investors from countries sharing a land border with India, like China.
Starlink refuses to provide shareholders' details
Citing officials aware of the matter, the publication said that, Starlink has refused to reveal full shareholding details of Starlink-parent SpaceX, saying that it is an unlisted entity and the US privacy laws bar it from making a full disclosure on this front.
"SpaceX has only given a declaration that none of its investors are from countries, which share a land border with India," a senior official was quoted as saying.
"The company has requested that this declaration be accepted for granting approval for the GMPCS (global mobile personal communication by satellite services) licence," the official added.
DoT wants clarity before issuing licence
Based on this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) wants to know whether approval should be given to Starlink based on its declaration. It also sought clarity on whether it should ask for full details from SpaceX before issuing a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) permit, officials said.
“We want to know if privacy laws of other countries can be a valid reason for not sharing complete shareholding details for getting a GMPCS licence in India,” another official was quoted as saying.
A GMPCS licence is required for starting satcom services in India. Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satcom venture already have this permit.
Notably, Jeff Bezos-led Amazon has also applied for a licence for its Project Kuiper satellite broadband venture. Both Project Kuiper and Starlink will compete with the Indian companies in this space.