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As widely speculated, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has entered the domestic satellite internet race. The company has applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) license to launch broadband services from space under the Starlink brand in India, according to a report by the Economic Times (ET). The US-based satellite communications company had previously applied for an experimental license, but later withdrew it, according to reports. SpaceX is his third company to apply for his GMPCS permit in the country. His two other GMPCS-licensed companies are OneWeb, backed by Bharti Group, and his Jio Satellite Communications, the satellite arm of Reliance Jio Infocomm. Nelco, the satellite communications company of the Tata Group. Telesat of Canada. E-commerce giant Amazon is also said to be aiming to enter the country's space internet market. However, none of these three companies has ever applied for his GMPCS license. Licenses are provided by governments to companies to enable them to provide satellite communications services in their licensed coverage areas.

Licensing does not mean SpaceX can launch services immediately, 

Acquiring a license does not mean that SpaceX is ready to launch services in the country. I have other requirements. The company needs approval from its space department and must allocate frequencies to provide service. SpaceX will also need to install earth stations (satellite gateways) in the country and deploy global satellite bandwidth capacity in India. These clearances must be obtained from the Indian National Space Promotion.

Why Starlink paused its India plans in 2021

Starlink registered its operations in India through its local entity, Starlink Satellite Communications. The company had begun receiving refundable reserve amounts of tokens from interested customers. However, DoT has requested Starlink to refund all customers under the Ministry of Communications in December 2021. The company was instructed to first obtain the necessary permits before it could offer satellite Internet services. The DoT has asked Starlink to stop "reserving/providing satellite internet services" in India without a license. Starlink later announced that it would seek a commercial license in India by January 31, 2022. But this never happened.