Starlink, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s satellite internet arm, registered its business in India on November 1, according to an Al Jazeera report. The company, Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, will now be able to apply for licenses and open bank accounts in the country, the report added. A local unit is necessary before the firm can start providing broadband and other satellite-based communication services. Starlink, if and when it gets the license, plans to offer 2,00,000 active terminals in over 1,60,000 districts by December 2022, TechCrunch wrote. The company, as of August, has shipped 100,000 user terminals in 14 countries. Starlink is a company that leverages small satellites, launched into space to form a low-Earth orbiting (LEO) network, which provides low-latency broadband internet services around the world, focusing on remote areas that are difficult to reach via land. Some of its competitors include Amazon’s Project Kuiper and OneWeb, with stakes owned by the British government and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises. The idea of using satellites to provide broadband services is likely to receive a fillip with this announcement. The move implies that Starlink will soon be able to start providing its services which may reduce the costs of delivering broadband in rural areas without a terrestrial internet link and thus, make the sector more competitive. What are Starlink’s plans for India? Starlink intends to dabble in the business of telecommunication services including satellite broadband internet services, content storage and streaming, multimedia communication, among others, Al Jazeera explained. "It will also deal…
