Starlink Partners With UIDAI To Use Aadhaar-Based Customer Verification For Internet Services In India
Starlink can onboard up to 20 lakh customers in India with its current capacity.
Billionaire Elon Musk-led Starlink has partnered with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to utilise Aadhaar-based authentication for customer verification for its satellite internet services in India.
The company recently received government approval to offer satellite-based broadband services in India.
"The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has onboarded satellite-based internet provider Starlink Satellite Communication Pvt. Ltd. Starlink will use Aadhaar Authentication for customer verification, which will make the entire process smooth, secure and very easy," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Starlink can onboard up to 20 lakh customers in India with its current capacity. Using Aadhaar authentication reflects a strong synergy between India’s trusted digital ID and global satellite technology, the statement added.
“Starlink's onboarding with Aadhaar authentication signifies a powerful synergy: India's trusted digital identity joining hands with global satellite technology. Aadhaar e-KYC will facilitate the onboarding of users seamlessly, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements while delivering high-speed internet to households, businesses, and institutions," it said.
Starlink Satellite Communication was appointed as a sub-authentication and sub-eKYC user agency in the presence of UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, Deputy Director General Manish Bhardwaj, and Starlink India Director Parnil Urdhwareshe, according to a PIB release dated Aug. 20.
Starlink has also partnered with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio to distribute its services.
Addressing concerns about local telecom operators, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, the Minister of State for Rural Development and Telecommunications, had earlier said that the government is of the view that Starlink services will not impact existing telecom operators as it will only serve up to 20 lakh customers in India, according to a PTI report.
The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a review meeting of BSNL in July. The company can serve up to 20 lakh customers in India with speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
How Starlink Satellite Service Works?
Engineered by SpaceX, Musk’s company projects Starlink as the world’s most advanced satellite network. It uses a low Earth orbit to provide broadband internet for streaming, gaming, video calls, and other online activities.
Unlike traditional satellite internet relying on geostationary satellites placed 35,786 km above Earth, Starlink follows a different approach for its services. Traditional services face high latency, which is understood as the round-trip data time between the user and satellite. On the other hand, Starlink uses a constellation of thousands of satellites that orbit the planet much closer to Earth, at about 550km. These cover the entire globe and make latency significantly lower for Starlink, helping it to provide high-speed internet, as per the official website.
