Starlink, SES differ with Amazon’s Kuiper, Apple partner on Trai’s unified satcom licence proposal

Global satcom biggies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, Luxembourg’s SES, Amazon’s Kuiper and Apple’s satcom partner Globalstar have taken opposing views on Indian telecom regulator’s proposal to merge the authorisation regime for two different satellite communication services.

Kuiper, Globalstar and US communications firm Viasat are backing a unified licence for GMPCS – a permit needed for broadband from space services for personal communication using voice, text and data – and VSAT-CUG, representing commercial satellite services suited for machine-to-machine (M2M) and internet of things (IoT) connectivity and in-flight and maritime services, among others.