SpaceX is offering full refunds to those who pre-ordered Starlink services in India. Starlink provided details on how to get a refund in the email, along with a short update on the state of the service.
The company is still awaiting a licence to operate. However, they do not have clarity on when or if they will receive it, so they are now providing the refunds.
In November, the Indian government told SpaceX that it needed to comply with existing regulations and refrain from pre-orders for its internet service.
Previous to this announcement, the company had over 5,000 pre-orders for its Starlink service in India.
As per the India head of Starlink, the company is currently in the process of applying for a license. He noted that the focus would be on receiving an approval for a limited pilot. A pan-India approval will take some time, as the government approval process is complex.
However, he did warn that Starlink services might not happen, but he is hopeful the company will receive approval.
Starlink sees India as a big potential market for internet service. Last year, Starlink said that the company plans to deploy over 200,000 active terminals in over 160,000 districts in India by the end of December 2022.
That timeline might not be met with this latest hurdle.
