Starlink to Set Up Nine Stations Across India Ahead of Launch

Elon Musk's Starlink reportedly plans to set up nine gateway earth stations across India as it waits for spectrum allocations from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Gateway earth stations are ground-based facilities that connect satellites with terrestrial networks, enabling data transmission, control, and communication between space and internet or telecom systems.

According to a report by the Economic Times (ET), the US-based satcom firm will set up these stations in cities including Mumbai, Noida, Chandigarh, Kolkata, and Lucknow. Starlink has sought approval for 600 Gbps satellite capacity over India under its Gen 1 constellation. For now, it has been provisionally assigned spectrum to demonstrate security compliance.

The company has been permitted to import 100 terminals for testing fixed satellite services only, the report added.

Starlink is the third company, after Eutelsat OneWeb (Bharti-backed) and Reliance Jio Satellite, to receive airwaves for security demonstrations. Although all have permits to launch satcom services and are awaiting spectrum allocation, none have yet obtained final clearance from security agencies.

Musk's company has been under government scrutiny due to past security concerns, which it has denied. According to the report, India’s security agencies had raised alarms over the misuse of Starlink devices in sensitive areas, particularly along border regions, earlier this year.

Following these alerts, the Home Affairs Ministry asked the DoT in March to investigate. Reports indicate that in December 2024, Starlink devices were seized in Manipur alongside weapons and ammunition, while another illegal device was recovered in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Although Musk's firm initially dismissed these concerns, it must comply with regulations after receiving its permits to operate in India and provide the requested information to security agencies.

Under the provisional spectrum assignment, no commercial services are allowed during the demonstration period. The rules mandate that data generated during the security compliance period must be stored within India, and the equipment must not fall into unauthorised hands.

Starlink must share details of deployed terminals, including names, addresses, and geo-coordinates, with the DoT and security agencies every fortnight. Law enforcement agencies have the right to inspect and access this data. Satcom licence holders are also required to monitor all traffic, establish satellite earth station gateways, set up a control and monitoring centre in India, ensure all traffic to and from India passes through Indian gateways, and create buffer zones along international borders.