Sri Lanka regulator grants licence to Musk’s Starlink for satellite broadband

Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator has issued a licence to Elon Musk’s Starlink, the satellite unit of SpaceX, to provide the country with satellite broadband services, the president’s office said.

Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a new telecommunications bill last month, which amended the law for the first time in 28 years and paved the way for Starlink Lanka to enter the country.

Musk’s Starlink had approached Sri Lanka in March with a proposal to set up operations, officials told Reuters last month. The company will have to pay a tariff for the licence, they said.

SpaceX’s Starlink, which owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth, is dominant in the satellite internet sphere.

Musk has been trying to enter South Asia after expressing interest in launching Starlink in India. No formal plans have been announced yet. Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.