Indian Government Seeks Information on Starlink's Data Storage and Transfer
The Indian government is dissatisfied with Elon Musk's Starlink's responses to its questions and has sought definite answers on data storage and transfer from India-based gateways, among other issues. In addition, it has asked the US conglomerate to provide an unconditional compliance undertaking in exchange for a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence to offer broadband-from-space services in India, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is currently reviewing the application for security-related checks, and a meeting with Starlink executives is scheduled for later this week. The government does not want Indian data to leave the country.
"The company will be a licence holder in India and must adhere to the rules." The data must remain in India for security reasons," said an official who requested anonymity.
Starlink is said to have told the government that because the satellite constellation is global, data traffic travels in accordance with international regulations. However, the government believes that if the data is not restricted to the country's borders, it may circumvent Indian regulations because the rules do not apply outside of them.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already granted GMPCS licences to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Reliance Jio's satcom arm. Starlink is the third company to apply for a licence to provide satellite communications services in the Indian market.