India publishes security-assessment status for three satellite licensees

India’s Ministry of Communications published a status statement on October 8 placing all three licensed non-geosynchronous satellite-service providers under security assessment. The release, issued through the Press Information Bureau at 9:19 a.m. IST, describes the providers as being at broadly the same regulatory stage.

The ministry identifies the licences as Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite authorisations. Each licensee must demonstrate compliance with security conditions intended to protect users and their data. The release does not name the three entities or certify that any has completed those checks.

Completion is required for each licensed entity before it can seek assignment of spectrum, according to the statement. The ministry describes that application as the subsequent step, rather than announcing a spectrum grant or authorising a commercial service launch.

Starlink is among the operators seeking to enter India’s satellite-broadband market, Moneycontrol reports. In a separate October 8 interview, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar told the publication that the pending security-clearance step involved the Ministry of Home Affairs and applied to all satellite providers, including Starlink.

The October 8 release responds to allegations of discriminatory treatment by setting out the common regulatory stage and sequence. It does not give a date for finishing the assessments, assigning spectrum or starting service.