By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, August 17: Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service Starlink has had a remarkably smooth entry into Sri Lanka in contrast to its experience in India where it has been facing procedural, business and security issues.
It was in June this year that Elon Musk and the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe met on the side lines of an international conference in Indonesia and set the ball rolling for Starlink’s entry into Sri Lanka.
By August 12, Starlink had got the license to operate. Starlink is not a telecommunications company in Sri Lanka and yet the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) approved it under Sections 17 and 22 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, and granted it a frequency license.
Starlink is a satellite-based high-speed internet connectivity system which can reach people in remote areas where signals are weak currently. It consists of thousands of satellites (6500 by one estimate) which orbit the earth at a height of 550 km. Because of its relative proximity to the earth’s surface, Starlink’ssatellites offer considerably faster signals.
Starlink is already operational in multiple countries including Nigeria, Peru, Mexico, Portugal, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Justifying his decision to bring Starlink to Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe said: “This initiative aims to address Wi-Fi connectivity issues, particularly in areas outside Colombo.”
According to datareportal.com there were 12.34 million internet users in Sri Lanka in January 2024. Internet penetration is 56.3% of the total population. Internet users increased by 460,000 (3.9%) between January 2023 and January 2024.
This means that 9.59 million Sri Lankans did not use the internet at the start of 2024, suggesting that 43.7% of the population remained offline. Part of the reason for this is that signals are weak in many places. But satellite internet can reach almost anywhere, in underserved and unserved regions as well.
According to the Director General of the TRCSL, Madusanka Dissanayake, the initial setup cost for the satellite internet service ranges between US$ 400 (LKR 119,954) and US$ 600 (LKR 179,920). The monthly fee will be US$ 99 (LKR 29,688).
One wonders if the social purpose of having a wide internet outreach will be served with such high pricing. But Mahesh Yogarajan, who is passionate about digital technology, said that arrangements could be made to bring the monthly price down for the end user.
India
Starlink had been straining every nerve to enter the big and lucrative Indian market. The internet penetration in India is quite high, but even then, about 35% of its 1.4 billion people are beyond the digital pale.
The digital divide could widen the already wide disparities in healthcare, and access to telemedicine and health information in the country, warns Tanya Aggarwal of the Observer Research Foundation.
“Additionally, the lack of digital literacy in underserved populations could lead to misinformation, further deepening the knowledge gap and exacerbating societal polarisation. Therefore, bridging the digital divide is crucial for fostering inclusivity and ensuring that advancements in technology contribute to societal progress rather than exacerbate existing inequalities. Hence the need for satellite-based internet systems,” Aggarwal says.
In its anxiety to capture the Indian market, Starlinkeven took subscriptions without waiting for government approvals and got ticked off by the authorities for the indiscretion.
The indiscretion was excused, but Starlink has had difficulty in getting the green light from the authorities in New Delhi as there is stiff competition from well-endowed and well connected Indian players in the market like Reliance Jio (owned by the Ambanis), Bharti Airtel (of Sunil Mittal), and Vodafone Idea in the broadband sector. However, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb will be a direct competitor.
According to media reports, Starlink is still to get approvals from the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as security agencies.
“The commercial aspects have been cleared, but there continues to be the security overhang,” Bloomberg said quoting an unnamed official.
The security overhang will be in addition to the approval required from the Department of Telecom and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the designated single-window agency for space activity approvals in India.
Ownership Concerns
Bloomberg also noted that the government had some “ownership concerns” given the possibility of satellites coming up in China and a lack of clarity on their links with Starlink.
The New Delhi-based Mint had reported that the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had asked for details of Starlink’s shareholding patterns.
The company is said to have cited US regulations for not providing the details of complete disclosure of ownership, as required by the Indian Commerce Ministry. But later, it gave a declaration that it does not have investors from countries with which India shared “land borders” meaning Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and China.
Extra-national Control
Unlike Indian companies, Starlink will be under a foreigner’s control. That could compromise India’s security.
The Russians had complained about the security risks arising from Starlink operations in Ukraine. China scrutinised Starlink satellite internet service in Taiwan and surrounding areas, voicing concerns about its intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities.
But the Indian government is keen on introducing satellite based internet technology. It has amended the space sector FDI rules permitting the allocation of spectrum for satellite broadband through a direct allocation or a non-auction basis.
This means that players like Starlink need only pay a fee to get airwaves for its services if it plans to offer them in India or partner with a carrier that already has spectrum, a media report said.
Approvals Imminent
The latest media reports say that matters are at the penultimate stage and that the hitherto elusive security clearance from the Home (Internal Security) Ministry is very much on the cards.
This accommodativeness is partly due to the fact that the Ambanis and other Indian entrepreneurs have taken noticeable strides in their bid to get a foothold in the satellite-based Indian internet market. There is now local completion for Starlink.
A joint venture between Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES has got approval from IN-SPACe to operate satellites in the country. Approvals were also issued to “Orbit Connect India” that will provide satellite-based high-speed internet access.
IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka told a news agency that another company, Inmarsat, that hopes to provide high-speed satellite internet, has also received approval. Competition will compel global players to drive innovation and reduce pricing, Goenka reasoned.
As in the case of Sri Lanka, where local telecom companies will continue to have their own place in the communication landscape, the existing players in India will also not suffer because of the entry of Starlink. Each sector has its strengths and weaknesses, Mahesh Yogarajan explained.
Starlink has an advantage in internet speed. But the existing internet infrastructure is robust, with the median mobile internet connection speed via cellular networks in India being 18.26 megabytes per second (Mbps) and the median fixed internet connection speed being 49.09 Mbps.
In this scenario “affordability” will be a critical factor in the competition for customers, says Tanya Aggarwal. “The rates offered by Starlink are too expensive to be functional in India, especially in rural and lower-income households. In a country like India, where good alternatives exist, Starlink’s inability to make its prices competitive may harm its prospects in the Indian market,” she asserts.
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