Starlink approval in final phase, to serve remote areas: MoS Telecom

Granting approval to Elon Musk-led satellite internet provider Starlink is a complicated issue but it is in the final stages, Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on Tuesday while allaying apprehensions of any threat to existing telecom service providers.

While speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the Bharat Telecom event, the Minister of State for Telecom said that the government's security norms for satcom are important, especially in the present scenario where hostile nation Pakistan is making an attempt to hack the country's system.

"It is a little complicated issue (permit for Starlink). We have to look from multiple angles. Security is one of them. Definitely, since it is in the final stages, we will get back on that," the minister said.

He said that Starlink will have a minuscule role in connectivity compared to traditional telecom networks.

"Starlink or the others, I wanted you to understand that in the entire world the number of subscribers Starlink has is less than 50 lakh. It's not much. If you look at the speed and other stuff it's much slower than the traditional networks. There should not be too much worry about ... Starlink coming, taking over, all those things. People don't understand this," Pemmasani said.

He said be it Starlink or other satcom players, it will be mainly to connect the remote areas where our traditional networks will be hard to reach and it will be mainly for the inside home connectivity and not for mobile services.

Allaying fears the minister stated: "I want people to know whether Starlink and all that stuff, whether they come or not ... they will be very small players even if they come. Starling right now has around the world less than 50 lakh customers. It's very expensive to install the initial equipment. It is 10 times more expensive than our traditional models."  He said that the monthly payment for consumers will also be quite expensive and it will provide connection within the home only.

"The speed would be much lower than the traditional. So, these are all the barriers. That is why people around the world also would not. This is mainly for maritime or when you have a really remote area where you cannot get any connection. That is where the Starlink and all this stuff would be highly valuable. This exaggeration of Starlink is going to come and take over India is for people who do not understand how the system works," Pemmasani said.

Key players like Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications are in the fray to provide satcom services in India.

The government has already issued licences to Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications while Starlink is yet to get final approval.

The satcom players will be able to start their services after the allocation of radio wave frequencies.

The rules are largely expected to be approved by the government based on recommendations in works from telecom regulator Trai.