Elon Musk slammed Mukesh Ambani on X on Thursday, claiming the telecom mogul is blocking Starlink’s entry into India. Musk noted that Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every Indian law and regulation.
The Ministry of Communications dismissed the allegation, insisting India follows a "fair and non‑discriminatory" regulatory framework for satellite communications. It said licences have already been granted to three operators – Starlink, Reliance Jio and Eutelsat OneWeb – and that security assessments are underway for all.
Starlink has secured the key telecommunications licence and built infrastructure in India, but commercial service cannot begin until the remaining security and spectrum requirements are met. Reliance Jio is also vying for the satellite market, directly competing with Starlink.
The ministry emphasized that the same regulatory gate applies to every operator and that the alleged delay is baseless. The next step for all three operators is the completion of the security assessment, after which they can move forward with spectrum assignment.