Elon Musk’s Starlink approval in final stages: Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani says ‘It is a little complicated issue’

Elon Musk-led satellite internet provider Starlink is close to getting approval to operate in India, reports news agency PTI. The report quotes Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, who told reporters on the sidelines of the Bharat Telecom event, that the issue is complicated but in its final stages, emphasizing that security norms are a key part of the decision."It is a little complicated issue (permit for Starlink). We have to look from multiple angles. Security is one of them. Definitely, since it is in the final stages, we will get back on that," the minister said.He added that Starlink's role in providing internet services will be limited compared to the traditional service providers. According to the minister, Starlink and similar satellite internet players will mainly be used to connect remote areas where traditional networks are hard to reach. These services will mostly support home internet connections, not mobile services."Starlink or the others, I wanted you to understand that in the entire world the number of subscribers Starlink has is less than 50 lakh. It's not much. If you look at the speed and other stuff it's much slower than the traditional networks. There should not be too much worry about ... Starlink coming, taking over, all those things. People don't understand this," Pemmasani said.Pemmasani also pointed out that installing Starlink equipment is much more expensive — around 10 times higher than setting up traditional telecom infrastructure. He said that monthly payments for customers would also be higher. "The speed would be much lower than the traditional. So, these are all the barriers. That is why people around the world also would not. This is mainly for maritime or when you have a really remote area where you cannot get any connection. That is where the Starlink and all this stuff would be highly valuable. This exaggeration of Starlink is going to come and take over India is for people who do not understand how the system works," Pemmasani stated.