Starlink Clears Final Hurdle: Musk’s Satellite Juggernaut Secures India Launch License

After months of regulatory limbo—and just in time to dodge another quarter of missed revenue targets—Elon Musk’s Starlink finally gets the green light in India.

The license win puts the satellite broadband service on a collision course with local telecom giants, who’ve been padding margins with subpar rural coverage for years. Now, the real pricing wars begin.

Musk’s orbit-bound ISP could connect millions… assuming Indian bureaucracy doesn’t ‘re-evaluate’ the paperwork mid-launch. Ground control to Major Elon—your move.

Confident Investing Starts Here:

• Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions
• Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter

Hurdle Cleared

According to a report by Reuters, and a piece of good news for Musk after a colorful last 24 hours, Starlink has received a key license from India’s telecoms ministry. This has cleared a major hurdle for the satellite provider and brought it closer to launching commercial operations.

Starlink is the third company to get a license from India’s Department of Telecommunications, which has approved similar applications by Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio to provide services in the country.

Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licenses to operate commercially in India, but delays have occurred due to reasons including national security concerns. Amazon’s (AMZN) Kuiper is still waiting for its India license.

This WOULD be a huge breakthrough for Starlink, allowing it to tap into India’s broadband market, which is valued at around $25 billion. Demand for broadband is expected to grow in the country with a huge population of 1.4 billion people as the economy develops and affluence grows.

Challenges Ahead

Analysts think monthly plans might start at around $15, which would help it compete with other low-cost internet options in the country.

If Starlink succeeds in India, it could change how satellite internet works in developing countries and act as a model for growth in other regions.

However, there are challenges. In recent months, Starlink has also clashed with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s entity Jio over how the country should grant spectrum for satellite services. Unlike some countries that auction off spectrum, India uses administrative allocation.

India’s government has sided with Musk that spectrum should be assigned and not auctioned.

Is TSLA a Good Stock to Buy Now?

As Starlink is a private company let’s look instead at EV Maker Tesla where Musk is chief executive. TSLA has a Hold consensus based on 16 Buy, 10 Hold and 11 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $500. TSLA stock’s consensus price target is $282.70 implying a 0.70% downside.

See more TSLA analyst ratings