Elon Musk’s Starlink to begin demonstration runs in Mumbai on October 30–31

Tesla CEO Elon Musk-led Starlink is set to conduct demonstration runs in Mumbai on October 30 and 31 to showcase its compliance with India’s security and technical requirements for satellite broadband services, IANS reported, citing people familiar with the development.

The demonstrations—scheduled in coordination with law enforcement and regulatory agencies—will utilise provisionally allocated spectrum, marking a major milestone in Starlink’s efforts to enter the Indian satellite broadband market. Successful trials are essential for the company to secure final clearances for commercial operations in the country.

Also Read: Starlink free to roll out India services once IN SPACe approvals are done: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Demonstrating compliance with GMPCS conditions

The upcoming runs will focus on meeting the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation norms, which are mandatory for operating satellite-based communication services in India.

Over ten satellite operators have already marked their presence in the Indian satellite communication market and the liberalised structure permitting 100 per cent foreign direct investment is one of the contributing factors to their entering India.

A constellation of 7,578 satellites in orbit has made Starlink the foremost global satellite communication operator, offering internet connection of high-speed across the globe.

Also Read: Elon Musk’s Starlink gets IN-SPACe nod, set to launch satellite internet in India soon

New horizons in satellite communication for India

With the advent of direct-to-cell communication services, India’s satellite communication sector has witnessed an upsurge in its activity, which allows a satellite signal to connect directly to a mobile phone.

Satellite internet is considered an essential backup to land-based networks, despite rapid digital progress, because of the poor and uneven internet coverage across the country—particularly in isolated and rural areas. The satellites stationed in Geostationary Orbits (GSO) and Non-Geostationary Orbits (NGSO) are utilised for the provision of these services.

In August, the government issued a directive that required the location of the storage of all data, traffic, and user details generated by Starlink in India, thereby ensuring that the domestic user traffic was not mirrored on any foreign server which is a main condition for both data sovereignty and national security.