SpaceX sets up subsidiary in India, plans to apply for licence

SpaceX's satellite broadband arm Starlink aims to start broadband services in India from December 2022, with 2 lakh active terminals subject to permission from the government. ''Pleased to share that SpaceX now has a 100 per cent owned subsidiary in India. The name is SSCPL - Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited and the incorporation date is Nov 1, 2021. Happy Birthday, SSCPL. We can now start applying for licenses, open bank accounts etc,'' Starlink country director India at SpaceX Sanjay Bhargava said in a social media post. 

Starlink claims to have received over 5,000 pre-order from India. The company is charging a deposit of USD 99 or Rs 7,350 per customer and claims to deliver data speeds in the range of 50 to 150 megabit per second in beta stage. 

The services of the company will compete with that of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea in broadband and it will be a direct competitor to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb. 

The company is keen to work in rural areas for providing broadband services.