NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — India rejected allegations of unfair treatment Thursday after Elon Musk accused powerful business interests of blocking Starlink’s commercial launch in the country.
The Ministry of Communications said all three licensed satellite internet providers remained at broadly the same regulatory stage, with security assessments underway. It called suggestions of discrimination “baseless and misconceived.”
Musk initially accused unnamed “oligarchs” Wednesday of protecting their “monopolistic chokehold” on Indian consumers. He escalated his criticism Thursday by questioning businessman Mukesh Ambani’s influence over the approval process. He did not provide evidence supporting his allegations.
Ambani’s Reliance Jio operates a competing satellite communications business. Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Starlink, Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications have secured licenses, but those approvals do not authorize commercial services. The ministry said operators must complete security assessments before seeking spectrum assignments.
Starlink executive Lauren Dreyer said Wednesday at the India Mobile Congress that the company had prepared its Indian operations to meet local security and regulatory requirements.
Dreyer said Starlink had spent five years working with regulators, telecom operators and industry representatives. She said the company had built twenty gateway sites with hundreds of antennas and would keep Indian users’ data within the country.
Starlink received its Indian telecommunications license in June 2025. Its commercial launch remains subject to the remaining clearances.
Musk previously disputed spectrum allocation policy with Indian telecom leaders. In 2025, however, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel separately signed agreements with SpaceX to distribute Starlink equipment in India, subject to regulatory approvals.
