After Elon Musk accused unnamed Indian oligarchs of stalling Starlink services in India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology defended its satellite internet approval process as fair and non-discriminatory on Thursday.
On Tuesday, in a post on X, Elon Musk wrote that Starlink was being blocked by “certain oligarchs” in order to maintain their “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.”
Without naming any individual, Musk appeared to point to India’s telecom behemoths, which jointly provide wireless and broadband data services to 80% to 85% of the Indian population.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service venture owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, is known for providing low-latency, high-speed internet services to some of the remotest parts of the Earth.
The wait has stretched on for four years for Starlink, following scrutiny over security requirements and access to spectrum.
India’s telecom market is dominated by billionaires Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel. Their satellite internet ventures, alongside Musk’s Starlink, have secured early approvals to launch in India but are awaiting spectrum assignment and final clearances.
Responding to Musk’s comments, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said three entities were at broadly the same regulatory stage, with security assessments under way for each. It did not name the companies or Musk.
“The suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the ministry said in a statement.
X users also debated Elon Musk’s allegations, with some supporting the need for satellite-based data services, while others highlighted security concerns associated with Starlink devices.
Supporters pointed to connectivity gaps in rural and remote India caused by accessibility challenges and commercial interests.
They argued that rural and remote India still has meaningful connectivity gaps due to difficult terrain and the low commercial viability of terrestrial networks, making Starlink ideal for villages, mountains, islands and disaster-hit areas.
While some users argued that India already has cheap and widespread 4G/5G services provided by telecom operators, security concerns have also followed the recovery of Starlink equipment in India.
Indian authorities have said they found Starlink devices in two separate operations in late 2024 a drug seizure by police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and an Army search operation in Manipur.
Musk then said Starlink's satellite beams were "turned off over India" and were "never on in the first place", a remark he repeated on Wednesday.