Elon Musk’s Starlink on Tuesday announced that it has registered its business in India as it opened a subsidiary in the country for its satellite internet division.
Sanjay Bhargava, Country Director, Starlink in India, said: “SpaceX now has a 100% owned subsidiary in India. The name is SSCPL – Starlink Satellite Communications Pvt Ltd and the date of incorporation is November 1, 2021.”
Bhargava announced that SSCPL will now start applying for licenses to start its broadband services as it applies for regulatory approvals.
The company intends to launch its satellite-based broadband services next year and reportedly started taking orders earlier this year.
Bhargava had earlier said that the company initially wants to focus on providing internet services in ten rural Lok Sabha constituencies.
Starlink uses satellites in low orbit to ensure high speed data rate activities. The company claims that the service is “ideally suited” in areas where connectivity is “unreliable or completely unavailable”.
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Bhargava had earlier claimed that the pre-orders from India had crossed 5,000 and the company is interested in focusing on rural areas to provide broadband services.
The company reportedly plans to have 200,000 devices available by December next year, most of which will be in rural areas. In the first phase, the company proposes to connect a few schools in Delhi and surrounding rural areas and then targets other rural districts of the country.
(with inputs from agencies)