Elon Musk's Starlink halts pre-booking in India

Elon Musk's Starlink Internet Services has halted pre-booking of its upcoming satellite-based internet services in India. The company was asked by the Indian government to stop accepting pre-orders as it was not a licensee in India.

The government issued a public advisory on Friday asking Indian citizens to not subscribe to the broadband from-space venture. Starlink, which is a division of Muks's SpaceX, was accepting pre-orders for the beta version of the service for a fully refundable deposit of $99 (around Rs 7,400). Starlink had registered its business in India on November 1 & had begun advertising.

"Starlink is not yet available in your area but as we launch more satellites, we continue to expand our coverage area. Please check back for future availability in your area," a notification on the website now reads.

"The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has pointed out that Starlink Internet Services is not licensed to offer satellite-based internet services in India being advertised to the public.. the government has asked the company to comply with the Indian regulatory framework for rendering satellite-based communication services and refrain from booking/rendering such services in India with immediate effect," the ministry had said in a statement.