'First provide connections to poor in America': Nishikant Dubey slams Elon Musk, says Starlink poses security threats

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday hit back at SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over Starlink's proposed entry into India's satellite communications market, asking him to first provide affordable internet connections to poor people in the United States. Dubey also raised concerns over the security implications of the satellite internet service, asserting that India would not change its security policy under pressure.

In a post on X, Dubey said a Parliamentary Committee had examined the challenges that Starlink could pose to India's security agencies. He added that the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and investigative agencies had raised concerns over the potential threats.

"As the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee, our committee has understood the challenges facing the country's security agencies through @elonmusk's Starlink. The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and our investigation agencies are being affected by the dangerous games of these threats," Dubey wrote.

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Dubey said Starlink could pose challenges to India's security agencies and argued that national security should take precedence over commercial interests. He said India would not change its security policy under pressure.

According to Dubey, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs and investigative agencies raised concerns about potential security threats. He also said similar concerns had been flagged in 2013–14.

The government said security assessments of all three licensed satellite communications providers are underway. Once an assessment is complete, a provider may seek spectrum assignment; the ministry said the three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage.

Musk says Starlink would increase competition and give Indian consumers more broadband choices. He has also argued that the service would need affordable pricing to attract customers in India.

Musk argues that another provider could give consumers more choices and benefit the average citizen. He has acknowledged that competition could reduce existing companies’ profits, while saying it would not necessarily put them out of business.

Referring to the previous UPA government, the BJP MP said the concerns surrounding such threats were not new and had been flagged more than a decade ago.

"In 2013-14, the government of Manmohan Singh ji had informed @TRAI about these threats," he said.

‘India does not change its security policy under pressure’

Dubey maintained that national security would take precedence over commercial considerations, noting that India would not compromise its policies to facilitate the entry of a foreign company.

"First, provide connections to the poor in your own country, America, at affordable rates, and then level accusations; India is a healthy democratic, sovereign nation; it does not change its security policy under pressure or social media," he added.

He further stated that if commercial interests were the deciding factor, the government could have welcomed Starlink despite objections from security agencies.

“If our policy were driven by money, we would have rolled out the red-carpet welcome for you despite opposition from the security agencies. Don't you provide even more support to political parties from America to Britain?” he further added.

Why is Elon Musk pushing for Starlink's India entry?

Dubey's remarks came amid an ongoing debate over Starlink's proposed commercial launch in India, with Musk arguing that the company's entry would increase competition and give consumers more choices in the broadband market.

On Saturday (local time), Musk criticised arguments against Starlink's entry, alleging that India's broadband business was dominated by a monopoly and that some online users were defending existing market players.

"The ridiculous arguments by Ambani’s army of In ternet shills make no sense. On the one hand, they say Starlink couldn’t possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambani’s de facto monopoly in India and then, in the same breath, they essentially claim that Starlink would be too strong of a competitor! This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole," Musk wrote on X.

He acknowledged that the arrival of another service provider could affect the profits of existing companies but argued that this would not necessarily undermine their businesses.

“Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable,” he added.

The latest remarks followed an earlier post in which Musk sarcastically targeted arguments against Starlink's proposed entry while seeking permission to operate in India.

What has the government said about Starlink's entry?

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications has rejected suggestions that India's regulatory framework for satellite communication services favours certain companies over others.

"The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services. Under this, telecom licences have been granted to three Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite services based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit-based satellite communications, as part of its commitment to enable provision of satellite communication services in India," the ministry said in a statement issued on October 8.

It clarified that security assessments of all three licensees were currently under way.

"As and when this process is completed for a licensed entity, it may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum. At present, all three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage. As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived," the ministry added.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X