Starlink Has a Licence and 20 Gateways in India. Why Can't It Switch On?

Starlink Satellite Communication has held a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation from the Department of Telecommunications since June 6, 2025, according to DoT records cited by Outlook. But that licence on its own does not allow a company to use radio spectrum. Two things are still outstanding:

• Spectrum assignment — the allocation of the satellite frequencies Starlink needs to serve customers.
• Final security clearances for its network infrastructure, including clearance for each individual gateway location under the security instructions attached to India's Unified Licence.

Until both are in place, commercial service cannot begin.

Why India is cautious

Indian officials have long treated satellite communications as a security-sensitive technology. The concern dates back at least to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when the attackers used satellite phones, which work outside conventional mobile networks and are harder to monitor.

Starlink is technically very different from those handsets — it delivers broadband from low-Earth-orbit satellites to small terminals — but its portability raises similar questions. The terminals can work in remote border areas, at sea and without a SIM card.

The licence conditions therefore require that key network-control and lawful-interception functions be located in India, that Indian users' traffic be routed through Indian infrastructure, and that operators be able to restrict service when authorities direct. Monitoring zones apply within 50 km of international borders and across India's Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles offshore, and services can be restricted during hostilities. Operators must also indigenise at least 20 per cent of the value of their ground-segment equipment within five years of launch.

Starlink says it is ready

The company's position is that it has done its part. Lauren Dreyer, vice-president of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, has said the company has built more than 20 gateway sites in India and designed its operations around Indian security requirements, including keeping Indian user data in the country. Starlink, she said, is ready to serve India once India is ready.

Not just a Starlink problem

The delay is not unique to Musk's company. Eutelsat OneWeb, which is backed by Bharti, and Jio Satellite Communications also hold GMPCS authorisations, and the government is still working through the spectrum and security framework that will govern all of them.

That matters for consumers. Satellite broadband is one of the few realistic ways to bring fast internet to villages, mountains and islands that fibre and mobile towers struggle to reach. When the rules are finally settled, Indian users could see three well-funded companies competing for that market at once. Until then, the dishes on the ground will stay switched off.