Elon Musk's Starlink to refund pre-orders in India following government decree
By Ishika Dangayach on Jan 04, 2022 | 05:34 AM IST
• Starlink has received over 5,000 pre-orders for their satellite Internet service in India
• The business aimed to apply for a commercial license on or before January 31
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet business notified its members on Tuesday that the Indian Department of Telecom had asked it to refund pre-orders until the company's Internet service is approved in the nation.
"As has always been the case, you can get a refund at any time," the company said in an email to a client. Reuters has received a copy of the email.
Starlink Country Director Sanjay Bhargava said in a LinkedIn post that the business aimed to apply for a commercial license on or before January 31.
Read more: Elon Musk’s Starlink has around 90,000 users as the internet service continues to grow
The company has received over 5,000 pre-orders for their satellite Internet service in India, however, the business just halted pre-orders seeking regulatory approval.
Musk’s satellite internet venture said in the email that the timing for getting licenses to operate in India is "currently uncertain and there are several issues that must be resolved with the licensing framework” before the business can operate Starlink in India.
Read more: Elon Musk’s SpaceX hits $100 billion valuation after secondary share sale - CNBC
Starlink is a SpaceX project that has launched over 1,500 satellites into orbit so far to create an interconnected network that is presently the world's biggest satellite constellation for providing high-speed internet to users everywhere on the earth.
Musk projected that Starlink will cost SpaceX between $5 billion and $10 billion to fully operationalize, followed by a long-term investment of $20 billion to $30 billion as the company continues to deliver enhancements and remain competitive against breakthroughs in cellular technology.
Read more: SpaceX’s Starlink business to go public once its cash flow is more predictable: Elon Musk
Meanwhile, its competitor Amazon said that its first Project Kuiper internet satellites would be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It has applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch two prototype satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2.
Picture Credits: Business Insider