India has accepted Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service to function within the nation, however solely after the corporate agreed to stringent knowledge safety and localisation necessities that may hold all Indian person info inside nationwide borders.

Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar confirmed the Division of Telecommunications (DoT) has granted Starlink Satellite tv for pc Communications Personal Restricted a Unified License following the corporate’s acceptance of strict operational circumstances.

The safety necessities mandate that Starlink set up earth station gateways inside India to deal with all satellite-to-user communications domestically. Below the phrases of the allow, no Indian person visitors will be routed via gateways situated exterior the nation.

“The safety circumstances embody the institution of earth station gateway in India for offering satellite-based communication companies with no person visitors originating from or destined for India to be routed via any gateway situated exterior India,” the minister stated.

The foundations additionally explicitly prohibit Starlink from copying or decrypting Indian person knowledge abroad, and ban the corporate from mirroring visitors to any methods or servers situated overseas.

The approval follows suggestions from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on spectrum allocation and pricing for satellite-based companies, which had been submitted to the federal government in Might.

The minister described satellite tv for pc broadband as an rising sector anticipated to generate important employment alternatives throughout set up, operation, and upkeep of telecommunications networks, in addition to person terminal tools deployment.

The information sovereignty safeguards sign the regulatory framework that each one satellite tv for pc web suppliers might want to adjust to to function in India’s market. Starlink will nonetheless require spectrum task and should operationalise its Indian gateways earlier than launching industrial companies.

The approval represents a major milestone for India’s satellite tv for pc web sector, with Starlink’s entry anticipated to accentuate competitors in offering connectivity to rural and distant areas the place conventional broadband infrastructure stays restricted.

The emphasis on home gateways can be anticipated to drive related infrastructure investments as Starlink establishes the required ground-based amenities to adjust to India’s knowledge localisation necessities.