Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 09: Elon Musk is demanding to know why Starlink still cannot launch in India. The government says all three satcom players await the same security clearance. Spectrum comes only after that.
Elon Musk has turned up pressure on India over Starlink’s stalled launch. He wants to know why the satellite internet firm still lacks a licence. The Indian government says Starlink faces no bias. All three satellite broadband players, it says, are at exactly the same stage.
What Musk said
Musk made his case in a string of posts on X. He said Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries. He added that the company had complied with Indian rules for five years.
On Wednesday, he blamed unnamed oligarchs for blocking Starlink’s entry. He said they wanted to protect their own business interests. A day later, he appeared to name one. He asked whether Mukesh Ambani was the real boss of India.
Musk also said Starlink would bring affordable broadband to India’s poorest-served users. These remain Musk’s allegations, which the government disputes. Jio did not respond to queries on his comments.
The government’s reply
The Ministry of Communications firmly rejected any suggestion of discrimination. It said Starlink, Bharti Group-led Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite face identical checks. Jio Satellite is owned by Mukesh Ambani.
Every licensee must prove it meets the licence’s security conditions, the ministry said. These conditions are meant to keep users and their data safe. Security assessments for all three licensees are currently under way. An operator may seek spectrum only after its assessment ends.
A licence is not a launch
The row exposes a gap between perception and process. Musk speaks of Starlink having no licence. The ministry, however, already calls all three companies licensees.
In India, a satcom licence is only the first step. Next comes security compliance, which the government treats as mandatory. Spectrum assignment follows, giving operators the radio frequencies needed to carry signals. Commercial services can begin only once spectrum is in place.
Licences abroad, however numerous, do not replace India’s own security review.
Why it matters
Satellite broadband could reach remote villages, mountain regions and other underserved areas. It can also give businesses more resilient connectivity.
Yet entry alone will not guarantee cheap internet. User terminals, spectrum costs and subscription pricing will shape affordability. Fibre and mobile networks will also compete for the same customers.
The three operators would compete for both enterprise and household users. Clear and consistent rules matter to foreign and domestic investors alike.
What comes next
No operator can sell services until its security review is complete. Until then, India’s satellite broadband race remains on hold. For the government, security compliance comes first, for every licensee.
