India rejects Elon Musk’s claim of discrimination over Starlink launch

India has rejected Elon Musk’s claim that Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, is being unfairly blocked from launching in the country. The pushback comes as SpaceX struggles to turn years of regulatory work and partnerships with India’s biggest telecom operators into a commercial launch in one of the world’s largest internet markets.

On Wednesday, Musk accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking Starlink’s launch in India to maintain what he called their “monopolistic chokehold” on the country, without identifying them or providing evidence for his claim. He called the alleged blocking a “crime against the people of India” and argued that Starlink could bring affordable, high-speed internet to people who lack internet access.

Hours later, India’s Ministry of Communications pushed back, saying its regulatory framework for satellite communications is “fair and non-discriminatory.” The ministry said in a statement that Starlink and two other licensed satellite operators are all at “broadly the same regulatory stage.” It added that all three companies are undergoing security assessments that must be completed before they can seek spectrum, the radio frequencies that satellites use to send signal.

Starlink has spent over five years trying to enter India, a market with more than a billion internet subscribers. But it has yet to begin commercial services despite securing key regulatory approvals and partnering with telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel last year. SpaceX has also set up 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 a telecom industry conference, India Mobile Congress, in New Delhi and reiterated the company’s commitment to the market. “We stand ready to serve India,” Dreyer said, adding that Starlink wants to help realize 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 link its satellites to the internet) and hundreds of antennas on the ground in India, and has adapted its operations to meet the country’s regulatory, security, and data-sovereignty requirements. Moreover, SpaceX has positioned its satellite network as a complement to — rather than a replacement for — India’s terrestrial telecom networks.

SpaceX first attempted to launch Starlink in India in 2021. The company, however, had to refund preorders for its equipment in early 2022 after the Indian government called it out for “booking/rendering the satellite internet service” before getting the necessary licenses.

Starlink has also previously clashed with India’s largest telecom operators over how satellite spectrum should be allocated. Starlink pushed for spectrum to be assigned administratively, while Reliance Jio argued that it should be auctioned — a position that could have made Starlink’s entry more expensive. India ultimately sided with Starlink’s preferred approach, deciding to allocate satellite spectrum administratively rather than through an auction.

Jio and Airtel, the two biggest Indian telcos, are also pursuing their own satellite internet services, even as 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.

While the timing of Starlink’s India launch remains unclear, the company this week launched Starlink Mobile, which connects ordinary phones to satellites, in neighboring Bangladesh this week.

Starlink, India’s Ministry of Communications, Reliance Jio, and Bharti Airtel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.