Starlink India is planning to apply for the commercial license on or before January 31, 2022. The satellite communications (satcom) company has prepared two guides for the same. One guide is for the individuals and private sector while the other one is for the state and union territories, wrote Sanjay Bhargava, Starlink India Head, on his LinkedIn post on Friday. The company is planning to have up to 200K terminals in India by December 2022, which is 12 months or a year from now. The satcom company is working towards getting a commercial license, but there are unknowns.
Starlink Commercial Launch in India Might be Delayed Due to Unknowns
There is always the factor of unknowns in a business. This is what Bhargava wrote in his post as well. Unless there’s a major roadblock in the company’s plans, it will apply for the commercial license on or before January 31, 2021. As of now, if everything goes according to the plan, Starlink India will be able to commence commercial rollout by April 2022. Further, the company aims to have up to 200K terminals by the end of 2022. Bhargava wrote that there are unknowns on when the customers will get the delivery of their Starlink. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently asked Starlink to block selling pre-bookings from their website in India. Because the company had no regulatory license, it doesn’t have the right of selling pre-bookings in the country. Starlink was selling pre-bookings in India for $99 (approximately Rs 7,500). In November, the company also rolled out an apology email to the customers in which it said that the customers should not be worried as they will definitely get their order. The company has already launched its services in over 20 countries after first launching in the United States in 2020. Starlink said that the delays in order shipment have occurred due to the silicone shortage over the last few months.
