Government Orders Elon Musk's Starlink to Refund Satellite Internet Service Pre-Orders in India

Starlink has started emailing users in India, offering refunds on their pre-orders. Billionaire Elon Musk's satellite Internet division of SpaceX says the Department of Telecom has ordered him to refund pre-orders until Starlink's Internet service is licensed in India. Earlier the company was believed to be working on launching its services in India in ten rural districts of Lok Sabha. India was considered one of its primary markets.

Starlink has now sent an email to customers in India stating that the Department of Transportation has instructed it to refund advance orders until it is licensed. Gadgets 360 has seen a copy of the email sent to customers who had pre-signed up for the service. The reason provided by Starlink in the email is that the timeline for receiving licenses to operate in India is "currently unknown" and that there are "various issues" that must be resolved within the licensing framework to allow the company to operate Starlink in India.

In December, Starlink's national director, Sanjay Bhargava, stated that the company expected to apply for a business license on or before January 31. A presentation by Bhargava reportedly indicated that the company was aiming to have 200,000 Starlink devices in India by December 2022, if it could roll out services in India by April. Starlink is said to have received more than 5,000 pre-orders for its satellite internet service in India, but the company had stopped taking pre-orders pending regulatory approval.

Earlier, Starlink registered its business in India in November. Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited would allow the company to apply for licenses before providing services to users in India. As mentioned above, the company reportedly aimed to provide high-speed internet to ten rural districts of Lok Sabha for 80 percent of Starlink terminals shipped to India, according to a company executive