India
India Denies Musk’s Claim of Satellite Service Blockage
NEW DELHI – India rejected Elon Musk’s allegation that Starlink is being blocked by “certain oligarchs” to maintain a monopolistic hold on the Indian people. In a statement released Thursday, the government said India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services is fair and non‑discriminatory, and that the suggestion of unfairness is “baseless and misconceived.”
The three companies set to launch satellite communication services in India are Sunil Bharti‑backed Eutelsat OneWeb, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, and Starlink. The statement added that a security assessment is underway for all three licensees. Once the assessment is complete for a licensed entity, it may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum. At present, all three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage.
Musk posted on X on Wednesday that “We are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are… This is a crime against the people of India!” The comment came the same day that Lauren Dreyer, VP of Starlink Business Operations, told the India Mobile Congress that “We stand ready to serve India, as soon as India is ready.” She said Starlink has been working with Jio, Airtel and state governments to prepare for service and that the company can help reach areas where the last mile is still the hardest.
Starlink has addressed India’s security concerns by stating that Indian user data will be stored in the country and that it will implement security controls in line with local requirements. Analysts suggest that, given India‑US tensions over trade, tariffs on Russian oil and security issues, Sunil Bharti‑backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio are likely to receive approval before Starlink, whose wait could be longer.