Guwahati: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday rejected allegations that it was delaying approvals for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in India to protect domestic business interests, saying the regulatory framework was applied uniformly to all satellite communication providers.
Musk, however, renewed his criticism of the delays, amplifying posts supporting Starlink’s entry into India and questioning whether Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is the “real boss of India”.
“Starlink will be of great help to areas of India that have bad or no Internet and even no mobile coverage,” Musk said in a post on X. He added that Starlink could fill connectivity gaps in underserved areas, noting that no country, including the United States, had complete coverage.
In another post, Musk questioned why Starlink had not received approval despite being licensed in more than 165 countries and spending five years complying with Indian government requirements.
The DoT’s response followed Musk’s allegation on Wednesday that “certain oligarchs” were obstructing Starlink’s launch in India. Bharti-backed OneWeb and Reliance Industries’ satellite internet arm are the other operators that have secured satellite communication authorisations from the department.
The DoT said security assessments for both operators were still underway. In a statement, it rejected claims that India’s regulatory framework was being applied unfairly or discriminatorily.
“A post is being circulated on 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,” the department said. It described the allegation as “baseless and misconceived”.
The department said all satellite communication licensees must demonstrate compliance with specified security conditions before launching services. These requirements, it added, were intended to safeguard users and their data.
At the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday, SpaceX executive Lauren Dreyer said she hoped Starlink would receive approval to begin services in India by this time next year. She also said the company had established 20 facilities in India to process Indian users’ data locally.
The dispute comes amid Musk’s repeated criticism of regulatory barriers facing Starlink in other countries. In January, he accused the South African government of racism over its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policy, which requires at least 30% ownership of foreign telecommunications licensees to be held by historically disadvantaged groups.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani declined to comment on Musk’s remarks when asked about them at the India Mobile Congress on Thursday.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also joined the debate on X, writing, “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.”
Musk responded by thanking Gandhi and saying, “This is indeed troubling”.