Elon Musk's Starlink to Store Indian Data Locally, Meet Domestic Security Conditions

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service will store Indian data locally and not mirror domestic user traffic to abroad, according to the minister of state for communications. Starlink has received all clearances for commercial broadband services in India, with the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite permit secured last month. The satcom sector is expected to generate employment in the country, with Starlink needing to acquire spectrum and establish ground infrastructure for its services.

New Delhi, July 2, 2025 — Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani has announced that Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service will store data locally within India. This move ensures that user traffic and network data will not be mirrored to any system or server located abroad, as per a written reply to the Rajya Sabha [1].

Starlink, which has received all clearances for commercial broadband services in India, is the third satcom operator after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio-SES JV to secure the necessary permissions. The company has received the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) permit and authorization from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to provide satellite communication services [1].

The Indian government's directive is aimed at enhancing data security and sovereignty. According to the minister, "Security conditions, inter-alia, include the establishment of earth station gateway(s) in India for providing satellite-based communication services with no user traffic originating from or destined for India to be routed through any gateway located outside India, no copying and decryption of the Indian data outside the country, and the Indian user traffic is not to be mirrored to any system/server located abroad" [1].

The satcom sector is expected to generate employment in India, as it involves the installation, operation, and maintenance of the telecom network, including user terminal equipment [1]. Starlink now needs to acquire spectrum from the government and establish ground infrastructure for its services.

The announcement comes as other global satcom majors like Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper and Apple’s satcom partner Globalstar are also awaiting approvals from Indian authorities. The growth of the satcom sector in India is expected to be exponential in the coming years, presenting significant opportunities for investors and financial professionals [1].

References:
[1] https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/portal-in-portal/satcom/starlinks-data-to-be-stored-locally-in-india-ensures-security-minister-chandra-sekhar-pemmasani/123164845