 |
| Starlink had withdrawn its pre-orders offer in India after the communications ministry missive |
Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite broadband arm, Starlink, has begun refunding the $99 (Rs 7,400) deposits customers who pre-booked Starlink satellite broadband connections have received.
In a communication to Indian consumers who pre-ordered a Starlink connection, Starlink said it was being instructed by India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to refund pre-orders until it is licensed.
As stated in the company's communication, customers in India who had pre-ordered Starlink were required to log into their accounts on the company's website, cancel, and request refunds. ET received a copy of Starlink's customer communication in which it said "The refund will be processed immediately, but it may take up to 10 days to appear in your account.".
In a statement, Starlink said it has removed the pre-booking restriction from its upcoming broadband-from-space service due to the lack of a local licence or all the necessary approvals. In addition, Starlink was asked by the sector's regulatory body not to solicit or collect fees related to telecom businesses without authorization.
In India, Starlink withdrew its pre-order offer after the communication ministry's letter. The company's India head Sanjay Bhargava said in a LinkedIn post that it will apply for a commercial licence by January 31 because it anticipates having 200,000 terminals in India by December 2022, provided it is able to begin rollouts by April.
It occurs at a time when companies like Bharti Airtel's OneWeb, Elon Musk's Starlink, Jeff Bezos-founded Amazon and Tata-Telesat are considering entering India's emerging broadband-from-space market, leveraging their respective global low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations. Earlier this year, StarLink and OneWeb announced plans to launch broadband-from-space services in India to capitalize on a market worth more than $1 billion in the near future.
ALSO READ:TESLA BOT NAMELY OPTIMUS IS FUTURE NOW