The India Department of Telecommunications has warned its citizens on Friday evening not to purchase Starlink services as SpaceX is not licensed to sell satellite internet on the subcontinent.

The warning was issued after the department noted that SpaceX was pre-selling Starlink services in India on its site.

"Accordingly, the government has asked the company to comply with the Indian regulatory framework for rendering the satellite based communication services and refrain from booking/rendering the satellite internet services in India with immediate effect," it said.

"Given the fact that Starlink is not a licensee, the public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised."

During 2021, SpaceX has missed its own deadlines for September and October to exit its beta phase.

The company currently states that users should "expect" speeds of 100Mbps to 200Mbps down, and latency of 20 milliseconds "in most locations".

Sometime next year, Japanese telco KDDI is set to use Starlink to provide backhaul service for some of its mobile towers.

Meanwhile in India, theBBCreported last week that New Delhi was set to ban all private cryptocurrencies, in favour of an official digital currency issued by the nation's Reserve Bank.

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