Trillionaire Elon Musk on Thursday asked why Starlink was not issued a licence in India yet despite complying with every law for five years. His post received a response from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi .
“A post is being circulated in 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 government’s statement did not name Musk or Ambani and did not directly address Musk’s allegation involving the Reliance Industries chairman. Musk , the SpaceX founder and CEO, doubled down on his claims on Thursday and said Starlink was licensed in more than 165 countries and had spent five years complying with Indian laws and government requirements. At the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday, Starlink vice-president Lauren Dreyer said the company had built its India operations around the country’s security requirements and had established 20 gateway sites comprising hundreds of antennas.
In its response, the Centre had said that India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services was “fair and non-discriminatory”. “So why still no license?” he asked. “Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he added. The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services,” it said. The ministry said telecom licences had been granted to three companies offering GMPCS services using non-geosynchronous satellite orbits — Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by Bharti Airtel, and Jio Satellite Communications. Under the terms of their licences, all three are required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions aimed at ensuring the safety of users and their data, the ministry said. Earlier reporting noted: Musk had initially said the satellite internet service was being blocked by some “oligarchs”. Musk had initially said the satellite internet service was being blocked by some “oligarchs”. Earlier reporting noted: The controversy began on Wednesday, when Musk, responding to a user on X, said Starlink, which is a satellite internet service, was being blocked in India by some “oligarchs”.
The exchange came a day after Musk alleged that Starlink was being ‘blocked by certain oligarchs’ in India, an assertion rejected by the government earlier today. Earlier reporting noted: In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the Ministry of Communications said the claim was baseless.
