SpaceX: Global companies’ interest in Indian space increased, Elon Musk’s company applied for license.
On one hand India is preparing to launch 5G service in every city of the country, while on the other hand foreign companies are showing interest in the space related business of the country. Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a license for satellite services (GMPCS) in an exercise to launch space-to-broadband services in India under its Starlink brand.
An official source with knowledge of this has told the media that SpaceX has applied, now the concerned department of the government has to take a decision on it under the rules.
The official said global companies are now showing interest in Indian space, SpaceX being one of them. Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and the satellite arm of Reliance Jio Infocomm have already secured the licenses. SpaceX is the third company to apply for the license.
SpaceX is the world’s leading provider of space launching services and the first private company to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It is the only company to have successfully put the crew of all manned space missions into orbit.
SpaceX provides internet connectivity globally with its Starlink constellation. According to the official, once the license is granted, SpaceX will have to get approval from the Department of Space and then allot spectrum to offer services.
Along with this, SpaceX will have to set up an Earth station in India. The company will also need to deploy its global satellite bandwidth capacity in India. The company will have to take approval for this from the Indian National Center for Space Promotion and Authorization (IN-SPACe), a mandated central regulatory body created to attract private capital in the space sector.
Competition in India’s relatively new space-to-broadband services business is beginning to intensify after global companies showed interest in the Indian space. The market value of this business in India is expected to reach US$ 13 billion by the year 2025. Apart from Tata Group’s Nelco, Jio’s OneWeb, Canada’s Telesat, Amazon is also exploring the possibility of launching satellite broadband service in India.
