India
Former Army Chief Warns Against Relying on Foreign Telecoms Amid Starlink Approval Talks
Former Indian Army Chief Ved Malik expressed concerns on Sunday about India depending on telecom systems owned by foreign companies. He cited U.S. sanctions imposed during the Kargil War and recent trade restrictions, stating, "With concern for national security, and my experience of defence sanctions imposed by USA during the Kargil war period and tariff and other restrictions imposed by US recently, I would not like to depend on any foreign-owned telecom system in India," Malik wrote on X. Malik served as Chief of Army Staff from October 1997 to September 2000 and led the army during the 1999 Kargil conflict. His tenure overlapped with sanctions imposed by the Clinton administration in May 1998 after India’s Pokhran nuclear tests, which restricted defence equipment sales, technology transfers, financial assistance and dual‑use exports. Some of these restrictions remained in force when Kargil began, limiting India’s access to certain foreign defence supplies.
Malik’s remarks come as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seeks regulatory approval for Starlink, the company’s satellite‑based internet service, to operate in India. Musk has criticised the government over delays in granting permission and alleged that influential business interests are blocking Starlink’s entry, a claim the government has denied.
India’s two largest private telecom operators, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel, together account for roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, more than 80 percent of the market, according to the latest government data cited by Bloomberg. Musk’s criticism marks a shift from last year, when SpaceX signed deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance’s Jio Platforms Ltd. to offer Starlink services in India. Bharti is a major shareholder in Eutelsat Communications, operator of the Eutelsat OneWeb satellite network, a key competitor of Starlink. Reliance has satellite ambitions through Jio Satellite Communications and a joint venture with Luxembourg‑based SES SA.
Jio, OneWeb and Starlink have all received India’s satellite‑communications licenses, but none has yet fully launched commercial services, Bloomberg reported. In June, it was reported that India had effectively frozen final approvals for Starlink’s commercial launch due to security concerns. Security agencies under the home ministry withheld clearances for the low‑Earth orbit service to begin operations, sources told Bloomberg. Starlink has secured a satellite communications license in India but is still waiting for security clearances and spectrum before it can switch on commercially.