Elon Musk in preparation to compete Mukesh Ambani's broadband business, will the rules stop him!

New Delhi

SpaceX (SpaceX), the second-largest company in the world, has offered pre-sale of its StarLink satellite internet service in India. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has started reviewing whether this violates the current telecom and technology regulations of the country. If it is allowed in the country, it is expected to create panic in the broadband business of the country.

A senior official of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) told ET that the department is trying to find out where Starlink Beta service is available from the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, the country's Satcom Policy, 2000 and The provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are not violated. If it is proved that any existing telecom rule is violated by Starlink's offer, then action will be taken accordingly.

Demand for broadband India forum

The official said that as of now it seems that Starlink's offer does not violate Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 as SpaceX is yet to work on the telegraph in the country. Under the law, telegraph means the apparatus used in the transmission of signals, images, data, and sounds/intelligence through an appliance, instrument or wire, or another electromagnetic emulsion. But the department has yet to take its final decision.

The Broadband India Forum recently asked the government to stop pre-selling the beta version of its StarLink satellite Internet services to SpaceX. He says that the US satellite operator does not have the proper license or authorization for this. The forum represents companies such as Bharti Airtel and UK government satellite venture OneWeb, Amazon, Hughes, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.

Who is there against

In the global Satcom sector, SpaceX competes with Jeff Bezos' company Amazon's Project Kuiper and OneWeb. The company has started pre-booking the beta version of its StarLink satellite internet service in India. The company is charging $ 99 (more than Rs 7000) for this which is completely refundable.

After making a splash in the auto and aerospace industry, Musk is now eyeing the telecom industry. His company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has left more than 1000 satellites for Starlink Internet service. The company is involved in signing with customers in the US, UK, and Canada. SpaceX has told investors that Starlink is eyeing in-flight internet, maritime services, demand, and rural customers in India and China. This entire market is worth one trillion dollars.

Jio will be fiercely contested

If Starlink enters India, then it will have to compete strongly with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, which is preparing to launch 5G. According to a Bank of America Global Research report, the Jio 4G rollout has proved to be a game-changer for India's Internet sector. It provided internet to users at affordable prices, leading to large-scale data usage. There are now around 65 million Internet users in India who use an average of 12 GB of data per month. Jio has increased the market size by providing data and services at affordable prices. Now with the arrival of Starlink, there may be panic in the market once again.