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Starlink, the satellite-based internet provider owned by Elon Musk, has been granted a licence to use the Aadhaar identity database to conduct electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) verification of its clients in India. The approval follows the satellite internet provider being onboarded officially by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as a Sub-Authentication User Agency (Sub-AUA) and sub-eKYC user agency. This is after over a month of getting its last regulatory clearance in India by the National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).
Aadhaar-based verification of Starlink customers shall be optional, and according to the prevailing norms, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has stated. The ministry regarded the process as being able to make customer onboarding quicker, easier, and safer. The step will help Starlink speed up its entry into the Indian satcom market, where it has stalled and competition has been stiff.
The Starlink will utilise the existing agencies that are authorised to connect to the central repository of UIDAI to authenticate. The sub-eKYC authorisation would enable them to verify online using Aadhaar information through authorised gateways. This step will help to adhere to the requirements of the regulations and make it easy to access the internet for households, businesses, and institutions.
Starlink will be the third satellite internet provider to obtain all of the necessary approvals in India, following Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio-SES. But the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is yet to finalise the rules of spectrum allotment, which is the most important step before commercial operation. In the meantime, international competitors such as Amazon Project Kuiper and Apple supplier Globalstar are also trying to obtain licences in India, making competition in the field more intense.
Earlier this month the government confirmed that Starlink had signed an agreement to store all network and traffic data locally as required by law. The DoT guidelines include ensuring data localisation, local manufacturing, adopting local navigation systems, and collaboration with law enforcers, which must be addressed by satcom operators. Starlink will also have to install ground infrastructure and carry out testing before it can start to offer services to Indian customers.
