Elon Musk's Starlink, the pioneering satellite internet service from SpaceX, has officially cleared the final regulatory hurdles to operate in India. However, this much-anticipated rollout comes with a significant caveat: the service will be restricted to just 2 million connections nationwide, providing speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
Following months of governmental review, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) granted Starlink a five-year authorization to operate its Gen1 satellite constellation over India. Final spectrum allocation and compliance with Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requirements are now pending before commercial service begins. If all goes to plan, Starlink service could become available by late 2025 or early 2026.
Union Minister of State for Telecommunications, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, announced that Starlink's user base in India is capped at 2 million due to technical constraints tied to available spectrum and satellite throughput approximately 600 Gbps dedicated to the Indian market. This limit means Starlink will serve only a small fraction of India’s vast population.
Despite initial fears among telecom giants like Jio, Airtel, and BSNL, government officials maintain that Starlink’s high upfront equipment cost (expected around ₹33,000), and a monthly fee of about ₹3,000, will inherently limit its mass adoption. The service’s core appeal is to users in rural and remote areas, where traditional broadband access remains unreliable or unavailable. The Indian government foresees Starlink’s impact as complementary, not competitive, to established players primarily improving digital access in underserved communities.
Customers can expect download speeds from 25 Mbps up to 200 Mbps, depending on specific satellite coverage and region. Each user will require proprietary Starlink hardware, including a satellite dish and Wi-Fi router. The anticipated monthly subscription falls between ₹3,000 and ₹4,200 substantially higher than most terrestrial broadband plans making Starlink a premium rather than mainstream choice.
While regulatory clearance is a major milestone, challenges remain. Starlink must finalize spectrum agreements with the DoT, establish ground infrastructure, and complete rigorous national security compliance testing before launching commercial operations. The service will likely enter a rural and enterprise market where conventional options fall short, carving out a role as a specialized solution rather than a threat to mass-market telecom operators.