Elon Musk has questioned the influence of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani as SpaceX struggles to launch its Starlink satellite internet service in the country. Musk’s comments, posted on X, escalate the dispute over regulatory delays after the Indian government rejected his claims that powerful business interests were blocking his entry.
Musk on Wednesday accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking the launch of Starlink in India to maintain what he called their “monopolistic hold” on the country, without identifying them or providing evidence to support his claims. He called the alleged blockage a “crime against the people of India” and argued that Starlink could bring affordable high-speed internet access to people who don’t have access to the internet.
Hours later, India’s communications ministry backtracked, saying its regulatory framework for satellite communications was “fair and non-discriminatory.” The ministry said in a statement that Starlink and two other licensed satellite operators were all “at approximately the same regulatory stage.” He added that all three companies are undergoing security assessments that must be completed before they can research spectrum, the radio frequencies that satellites use to send signals.
Musk went further on Thursday, questioning the influence of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.
“Is Ambani the real boss of India? he wrote on X, after claiming that Starlink had spent years complying with Indian regulations and wondering why it still lacked a license.
Starlink has spent more than five years trying to enter India, a market with more than 1 billion Internet subscribers. But the company is yet to launch commercial services, despite securing key regulatory approvals and partnering with telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel last year. SpaceX has also built a local team as it prepares for a launch, appointing former Payoneer executive Prabhakar Jayakumar to lead its India operations in December.
Musk’s comments came hours after Lauren Dreyer, Starlink’s vice president of business operations, appeared at the India Mobile Congress, a telecommunications industry conference in New Delhi, and reiterated the company’s commitment to the market.
“We are ready to serve India,” Dreyer said, adding that Starlink wants to help achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of achieving universal connectivity across the country.
Starlink said it already has more than 20 gateway sites (the ground stations that connect its satellites to the Internet) and hundreds of ground antennas in India, and has adapted its operations to meet the country’s regulatory, security and data sovereignty requirements. Additionally, SpaceX has positioned its satellite network as a complement, rather than a replacement, to India’s terrestrial telecommunications networks.
SpaceX first attempted to launch Starlink in India in 2021. The company, however, had to refund pre-orders for its equipment in early 2022 after the Indian government called on it to “reserve/reserve satellite internet service” before obtaining the necessary licenses.
Starlink has also previously clashed with India’s largest telecom operators over how satellite spectrum should be allocated. Starlink pushed for the spectrum to be allocated administratively, while Reliance Jio argued that it should be auctioned – a position that could have made Starlink’s entry more expensive. India ultimately came around to the approach favored by Starlink, deciding to allocate satellite spectrum administratively rather than through auctions.
Jio and Airtel, India’s two largest telecom operators, are also pursuing their own satellite internet services, although they have agreed to distribute Starlink in India. Jio is working with satellite operator SES on satellite broadband, while Airtel is a major backer of Eutelsat OneWeb, another licensed satellite operator in India.
Although the timing of Starlink’s launch in India remains uncertain, the company this week launched Starlink Mobile, which connects regular phones to satellites, in neighboring Bangladesh.
Starlink, India’s Ministry of Communications, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Update: This article was originally published on October 7 at 11:14 p.m. PDT and has since been updated to include comments from Musk questioning Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s influence in India.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Gn bussni
