Elon Musk escalated a public dispute over SpaceX's stalled India entry on Thursday, posting on X to ask 'Is Ambani the real boss of India?' — directly naming Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as Starlink continues to await regulatory approval [Source: Bloomberg]. A day earlier, Musk had accused unnamed 'oligarchs' of blocking Starlink's launch to maintain a 'monopolistic chokehold' on the country, without identifying them or providing evidence, and called the alleged blocking a 'crime against the people of India' [Source: TechCrunch]. Musk also stated that Starlink has spent five years complying with Indian laws and is licensed in more than 165 countries.
India's Ministry of Communications rejected the allegations, describing the regulatory framework as 'fair and non-discriminatory' and calling the suggestion that it was discriminatory 'baseless and misconceived' [Source: TechCrunch]. The ministry said Starlink and two other licensed satellite operators — Reliance Jio's Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb — are at 'broadly the same regulatory stage,' with security assessments by the Ministry of Home Affairs required before any of them can seek spectrum. Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, speaking on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress, confirmed that the Department of Telecom has issued licences and provisional spectrum to all satcom companies and that the outstanding issue is the Home Affairs security clearance [Source: News Karnataka].
Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms and son of Mukesh Ambani, declined to address Musk's remarks directly, telling reporters the company wants to be 'heads down and deliver value to our Indian consumers' [Source: News Karnataka]. Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal separately told PTI that his company's satellite venture was also waiting for its own regulatory approvals. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi responded to Musk's post, prompting Musk to reply 'This is indeed troubling' [Source: CNBC].
Reliance Jio is India's largest telecom and internet service operator and, together with Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL.NS), controls roughly 80% of the Indian market [Source: CNBC]. Jio is separately developing its own satellite connectivity offering: Akash Ambani told shareholders in June that Jio planned to roll out low-orbit satellite communications in India, with reports indicating plans for a network of around 1,600 LEO satellites and 23 ground stations. Eutelsat (ETL.PA) has exposure to the Indian regulatory process through its OneWeb unit, which the ministry named as one of the three licensed operators awaiting security clearance.
Starlink has been attempting to enter India — a market with more than a billion internet subscribers — for more than five years and has yet to begin commercial services despite securing key regulatory approvals and partnering with both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel last year. The company says it has more than 20 gateway sites and hundreds of antennas on the ground in India and has adapted operations to meet the country's regulatory, security and data-sovereignty requirements. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that New Delhi had frozen approvals for Starlink over concerns that its terminals could be used before the service was licensed. SpaceX is not publicly listed.
Sources: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CNBC, News Karnataka