Elon Musk led SpaceX Starlink internet comes to 32 countries; SURPRISING news for Indians

SpaceX has announced that its satellite internet service, Starlink, is now accessible in 32 countries. The Elon Musk headed company took it to Twitter to share details of its global network capabilities. The company stated that it will be shipping the Starlink services immediately to the 32 countries where its services are available. The improved capabilities also mark a complete turnaround from the time a couple of months ago when Starlink lost 40 satellites to a solar storm right after their deployment. But the big question is whether India is part of these 32 countries and when will Starlink launch in India? Read on to find out. Also read: SpaceX president says Russia's invasion of Ukraine opened door to Starlink.

“Starlink is now available in 32 countries around the world. People ordering from areas marked “available” will have their Starlink shipped immediately,” tweeted Starlink. Alongside the tweet, it also shared a link to a map on its website that highlights the countries where the service is available and the countries where it plans to expand soon. The major countries where Starlink satellite internet service is available include the USA, England, Spain, France, Germany, southern Australia and Chile. India is not a part of these 32 countries.

SpaceX expands Starlink services to 32 countries

In the last few months, Starlink has been facing major issues in fulfilling its deliveries and extending its services to the majority of the world. Frustrated with delays and extended waiting period, customers have been left complaining about the service online. It appears now that the Elon Musk led company has fixed those issues and is back to providing the services to a significant portion of the planet.

Earlier, SpaceX stated that by 2022, the Starlink service will be available in 25 countries but exceeding the expectations, it has increased its availability to 32 countries. This comes as both a relief to the waiting customers and excitement to potential buyers who have been anticipating this development. However, India will not be able to rejoice just yet as it is not a part of these 32 countries where Starlink has gone active. Also read: Astronaut makes first TikTok video ever from the International Space Station.

India will have to wait for Starlink

According to the Starlink website’s map, India is not in the list of the 32 countries where Elon Musk’s space company will be offering its services. A closer look at the map reveals that while India has been marked in dark blue color indicating that the SpaceX services are ‘coming soon’, it is one of the only countries where the page does not share any timelines. For instance, hovering over Brazil displays ‘Starting Q1 2023’ and Uruguay displays ‘Starting Q4 2023’. The entire African continent is labeled as ‘Starting in 2023’. However, India displays no such timeline, making it difficult to gauge when Starlink can launch in India.

The same page also provides more information regarding the countries where Starlink has not expanded yet. Under the ‘Availability’ description, under ‘coming soon’, it says “pending service coverage or regulatory approval”.

The ‘regulatory approval’ part has played a crucial role in India in the past for Starlink. Considered as one of the key markets for Elon Musk, Starlink began taking pre-orders last year and received as many as 5,000 orders in a short span of time, according to the company. But, it had to be paused in November after the Government told Starlink to obtain a license for its services before taking bookings. If the regulatory approval part is solved, there is a good chance that Starlink services can come to India soon.