Why Elon Musk has slammed ‘certain oligarchs’ for Starlink’s India launch delay

Billionaire Elon Musk, whose satellite communications company Starlink is yet to receive final approvals from Indian authorities to launch its services in the country – more than a year after securing necessary licences from the government – has blamed “certain oligarchs” for blocking Starlink in the country. He called it a “crime against the people of India”.

“Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are… This is a crime against the people of India!” Musk said in a post on social media platform X. “Starlink in India would enable high-speed, affordable Internet connectivity for those who can’t afford current prices or who don’t have a connection at all!” he added in another post.

Musk’s comments come amid continued regulatory delays to Starlink’s launch in India, primarily over security concerns, even though the company says it has tailored its operations to meet the country’s security and regulatory requirements.

At the India Mobile Congress Wednesday, Lauren Dreyer, vice-president of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, said, “We’ve built our Starlink operations specifically for India in recognition of Indian security requirements and other regulations, establishing controls at every layer for India and keeping India user data within India.”

“We’re standing ready to serve India once India is ready. We’re ready to work with the government, ready to work with operators, ready to work with industry to this end. We’re ready to help Prime Minister Modi achieve his vision of 100% connectivity throughout India,” she added.

Satellite communication services rely on an array of satellites in orbit to offer connectivity to homes and businesses on the ground. They are an alternative to ground-based communication, called terrestrial networks, such as cable, fibre, or digital subscriber line, and they don’t require wires to transmit data. Starlink operates the world’s largest satellite constellation, with around 7,000 satellites in orbit.

Why the delay in Starlink’s India launch

Musk’s Starlink is among the operators that have secured GMPCS (global mobile personal communication by satellite) licences and other statutory approvals needed to launch satellite communication, or satcom, services in the country. Others who have received it include Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio Satellite Communications Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms. Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Leo is also in contention for a licence.

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Last July, Starlink had received what industry executives said was the last regulatory approval needed to launch the service in India from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) granted authorisation to the satcom company for its satellite constellation. Before that, the company had received an operator licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), three years after first applying for one.

Despite the regulatory clearance, it is understood the government is yet to green-light formal launch of these services over security concerns. The concern particularly stems from anxieties around foreign satcom operators potentially bypassing Indian gateways to offer their services, an event when the government might lose control over the service.

In satellite communication, Indian gateways refer to Satellite Earth Station Gateways physically located within Indian territory that interface between space-based satellite constellations and domestic terrestrial telecom networks. All traffic originating or terminating in India must process entirely through these local ground facilities.

The delay in Starlink’s final security clearance comes as Reliance Jio is building a sovereign low earth satellite constellation in India, and is considering a 1,600–1,650 satellite network costing an estimated $10–15 billion.

DoT guidelines for satcom companies

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Last May, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had released guidelines for satellite communication companies. The norms call for companies to set up local manufacturing, data localisation, use domestic navigation systems, implement a blocking mechanism, and cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

According to the guidelines, satcom companies will have to share with the government a year-wise phased manufacturing plan aiming at indigenisation to a level of at least 20% of their ground segment of the satellite network that is established at the end of five years after launching commercial operations.

The companies should also ensure provisioning of NavIC-based positioning systems in their user terminals on “best effort basis,” along with a transition plan to implement NavIC in a time-bound manner by 2029. NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is India’s regional satellite navigation system, similar to GPS, which is a global system developed by the US.

Companies will have to provide real-time monitoring to ensure that no user traffic originating from, or destined for India is being routed through any gateway outside Indian territory. They will also have to submit an undertaking that they will not copy and decrypt Indian telecom data outside India.

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Operators would need to implement service restrictions to “any individual, group of subscribers or certain geographical areas” during “hostilities”, the guidelines said. These companies will have to seek separate clearance (“from security angle”) for voice service and data service. Satcom operators will also have to ensure that their data centres are based within the geographical boundary of India and shall make provision to provide Domain Name System resolution within its territory.