India’s Ministry of Communications has issued a memorandum that details the conditions under which the country’s authorities would approve licenses to Starlink and other Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) companies.
A set of rules required of these operators is interpreted in some reports as an obligation to agree to facilitate surveillance and censorship.
At the same time, it is acknowledged that most countries impose similar rules – but the memo and its provisions are above all framed as a test for Starlink owner, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and his commitment to free speech.
Starlink has shown interest in entering the Indian market and has service resale deals with two of the country’s largest telecommunications firms. But making those deals operational depends on being granted a license, with the memorandum now explaining the 29 conditions that companies must meet.
GMPCS operators will have to ensure security clearance for gateway/hub location in India, as well as that functionality such as lawful interception facility, monitoring/control facility of user terminals, data traffic routing, etc., are located in the country.
Unregistered terminals will be immediately disconnected, while those registered for one location and then moved will be locked.
“Rogue for malicious activities” terminals are to be blocked without delay.
During hostilities, those issued GMPCS licenses must be able to restrict or deny service either based on specific geo-locations or to individuals or groups of subscribers.
Another requirement is to set up special monitoring zones 50 kilometers within the land borders and the exclusive economic zone (200 nautical miles).
The purpose of this is to “monitor user activities” that are designated by security or law enforcement agencies.
Just like ISPs and telecommunications firms, GMPCS operators have to agree to intercept traffic and provide details that include, among other information, exact user terminal location, device ID, IMEI, and MSISDN, as well as public IP and private IPs.
Operators must also ensure that if a website is blocked in India, it is also blocked by their GMPCS service, and “facilitate” collection of metadata by India’s Telecom Security Operation Center.
