Starlink, the satellite internet division of billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, registered its business in India on Monday, company documents filed with the government showed, as it prepares to launch internet services there.
Having a local unit, Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, will allow the company to apply for the licences it needs from the government before it can provide broadband and other satellite-based services.
"Pleased to share that SpaceX now has a 100 per cent owned subsidiary in India," Sanjay Bhargava, country director for Starlink in India, wrote on LinkedIn.
"We can now start applying for licences, open bank accounts, etc," wrote Mr Bhargava, who according to his profile joined the company in October.
Starlink is one of a growing number of companies launching small satellites as part of a low-Earth orbiting network to provide low-latency broadband internet services, with a focus on remote areas that terrestrial internet infrastructure struggles to reach.
Its competitors include Amazon.com's Kuiper and OneWeb, which is co-owned by the British government and India's Bharti Enterprises.
In India, Starlink plans to "carry on the business of telecommunication services" including satellite broadband internet services, content storage and streaming, multimedia communication, among others, according to the company filing.
It will also deal in devices such as satellite phones, network equipment, wired and wireless communication devices, as well as data transmission and reception equipment, it said.
Starlink separately said it will focus on "catalysing rural development" in India through its broadband services, according to a company presentation shared by Mr Bhargava on LinkedIn at the weekend.
Once it is allowed to provide services, Starlink will, in the first phase, give 100 devices for free to schools in Delhi and nearby rural districts. It will then select 12 other rural districts.
The company aims to have 200,000 Starlink devices in India by December 2022, 80 per cent of which will be in rural districts, it said in the presentation.
Starlink has received more than 5,000 orders for its devices in India.
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
The biog
Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician
Hometown: Ghazala, Syria
Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978
Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter
Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi
Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.
Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo
Favourite food: fresh fish
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
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