From Mumbai to Kolkata: Starlink to Establish 9 Gateway Stations Across India

Starlink is gearing up for its satellite internet debut in India by establishing nine gateway earth stations across key cities. This infrastructure is crucial for enabling high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband access nationwide—even in remote areas with limited mobile coverage.

Key Highlights

• Cities targeted: Mumbai, Noida, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and others
• Purpose: These stations will serve as ground infrastructure to connect Starlink’s Gen 1 satellite constellation with users across India
• Spectrum access: Starlink has applied for 600 Gbps capacity and received provisional spectrum clearance to begin testing
• Regulatory status: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allowed Starlink to import 100 satellite terminals for testing
• Launch timeline: Full-scale rollout expected by late 2025 or early 2026

Gateway Station Deployment Overview

Feature	Details
Number of Stations	9 planned across major cities
Cities Identified	Mumbai, Noida, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, and Kolkata among others
Purpose	To connect Starlink’s satellite constellation to India’s terrestrial internet backbone
Spectrum Clearance	Provisional approval for 600 Gbps capacity from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
Terminal Imports	100 satellite user terminals approved for testing (not commercial use)
Launch Timeline	Commercial rollout expected in late 2025 or early 2026
Regulatory Status	Awaiting full licensing under India’s new satellite communication framework

Strategic Implications

• Rural Connectivity Boost: Enables coverage in remote and underserved areas, bypassing the need for fiber or mobile towers
• Competitive Landscape: Starlink will compete with Bharti-backed OneWeb and Jio’s satellite JV with SES
• Security & Sovereignty: Government monitoring for compliance with national security and data localization norms
• Tech Stack: Gen 1 satellites use Ku-band; Gen 2 may introduce laser interlinks and higher throughput

This move positions India as a major market for Starlink’s global expansion, potentially transforming connectivity for underserved regions.

Last month, Starlink received trial spectrum clearance from the DoT to conduct tests at its Navi Mumbai terminal. Starlink has applied for high-capacity spectrum (600 Gbps Spectrum Request) to support its Gen 1 satellite constellation.

The company has received approval to import 100 satellite terminals for testing purposes. Services are expected to begin by early 2026, pending final SATCOM licensing and spectrum allotment.