New Delhi:
India has rebutted American billionaire Elon Musk’s claim that “certain oligarchs” were blocking Starlink’s satellite communication services in India to maintain their monopoly in the country. In response to Musk’s remarks, the Ministry of Communications asserted that India has a “fair, non-discriminatory authorisation framework” for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services such as Starlink.
India has granted GMPCS (global mobile personal communication by satellite) licences to three companies, including Starlink, for operations in the country. Two other companies that have also received it are Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms, while Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Leo is also in contention for a licence.
Explaining the “non-discriminatory” framework that is in place, the ministry said the telecom licences have been granted based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit-based satellite communications as part of its commitment to enable the provision of satellite communication services in India.
The ministry said that “under the terms and conditions of licence, every such licensee is required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions.”
“This is aimed at ensuring that services provided meet various security requirements to ensure the safety of all users and their data. Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all three licencees.”
According to the Ministry, as and when this process is completed for a licensed entity, it may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum.
It’s been more than a year since Musk’s Starlink secured the necessary licences from the government to operate in India, but the company has yet to receive final approvals from the authorities to launch its services in the country.
The Ministry noted that at present, all three companies that received the GMPCS licences are broadly at the same regulatory stage.
“A post is being circulated in social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner…As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” it added.
Musk’s Claim
The clarification came after Musk took to his X account and posted, “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.”
However, hours before his post, a senior official of Musk-led SpaceX announced that the company’s satellite communication arm, Starlink, is ready to start services in India.
Speaking at India Mobile Congress 2026, SpaceX’s Starlink Business Operations Vice President Lauren Dreyer said the company has made an investment in setting up the required infrastructure to serve the Indian market.
“We’ve built our Starlink operations specifically for India in recognition of Indian security requirements and other regulations, establishing controls at every layer for India, and keeping Indian user data within India,” she said.
“We’ve already made the investment and built the existing ground infrastructure here, 20 gateway sites comprising hundreds of antennas, and we’ve established the operations to be ready to serve India,” Dreyer added.
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