It may be recalled that the Indian government had earlier this year decided to rethink the proposed operation of Starlink in the country over security concerns. This came in the wake of the discovery of Starlink satellite antennas and routers from Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a DoT official told in January, adding: “Incidents like these have prompted the government to scrutinise Starlink’s licence application.”The government has granted licences to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and the Jio-SES joint venture Jio Satellite Communications to provide satellite communication services in the country. Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have also applied for licences but neither has been approved by the government.In 2021, Starlink courted controversy when it accepted pre-orders from Indian consumers before obtaining the licence to operate in the country. Following this, the DoT asked it to refund the pre-orders. Fresh problems for Starlink emerged in December 2024 when the company’s routers and antennas were discovered in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. Additionally, police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands found that drug smugglers were using Starlink Mini—a portable satellite communication device with an integrated WiFi router—to communicate.Although Musk claimed that Starlink had “turned off” its services in India, security agencies suspect the devices were used in sensitive areas like Manipur, providing internet access to militant groups.(With inputs from Express News Service)
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