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Indian Government Asks Starlink to Refund Pre-Orders Until Licences Are Obtained

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet venture has been asked by the Indian government to refund all pre-orders until it obtains licences to operate in the country. As of now, Starlink has received over 5,000 pre-orders in India, but without commercial licences, it is unable to provide services. In an email to one of its customers, the company stated that refunds are available at any time. However, the timeline for receiving the licences is currently unknown, and there are issues to be resolved with the licensing framework. Starlink is eager to make its services available in India as soon as possible.

Starlink, a division of Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company, aims to offer low-latency broadband internet services worldwide, specifically targeting remote areas with limited terrestrial infrastructure. However, the Indian government has advised against subscribing to Starlink without a licence and has directed the company to stop taking bookings and offering services. Starlink plans to apply for a commercial licence in India by the end of January, with a target of rolling out 200,000 devices in the country by December 2022.

Sanjay Bhargava, Starlink’s country head in India, had previously announced the goal of obtaining a licence and launching services in April. However, in a recent LinkedIn post, Bhargava announced his resignation as country director and board chairman for personal reasons. Starlink faces competition from other satellite internet providers such as Amazon.com’s Kuiper and OneWeb, which was rescued by the British government and India’s Bharti Group after a bankruptcy.

As the Indian government continues to regulate satellite internet services, Starlink is actively working towards obtaining the necessary licences to operate and offer its services to customers in India.