Why BIF Wants To Ban Elon Musk's Starlink Internet Service

Although Starlink has started pre-booking services in India, it is facing hurdles. The authorities believe that Starlink is not following all guidelines, which seems bad news for those who opted for pre-booking as it might lead to the cancellation of all bookings. Notably, Starlink is planning to launch its services by 2022.

Broadband India Forum Creating Problem For Starlink

The Broadband India Forum (BIF) has asked TRAI and ISRO to block Starlink from pre-booking its beta services in the country, reports ET. Notably, TV Ramachandran, president of the BIF said that the company cannot operate in the country as it doesn't have any permission to offer the same. The industry body said that Starlink has no ground station in India. Besides, it doesn't have any authorization from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for the satellite frequency.

SiA-India Views On Starlink Services

However, SiA-India, a satellite communication body said that it is too early to comment. "SpaceX is yet to launch their services as per their 2022 plan in India. It is premature to tag it as not qualifying when they intend to launch their satellite broadband service in the future, subject to national licensing requirements," Anil Prakash, director-general SiA-India was quoted by ET.

The report states that the company needs to fulfill all documents and applications before starting its operations in India. Besides, the report claims that the company needs to follow all licensing regulations to offer commercial services.

"The responsible government authority will carry out its due diligence on the application submitted before Starlink can offer its commercial services. Any organization looking to offer services in the country must follow the law of the land and adhere to the country's licensing and regulatory framework," Prakash added.

Starlink claims that its users will get speed between 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps. The firm said that it offers latency between 20ms to 40ms in several locations and soon it will expand its services. Notably, Starlink services are expected to be costlier than other broadband players those are operating in the country. It might get tough competition from BSNL as Bharat AirFibre is already operating in rural areas.