Musk attacks Indian ‘oligarchs’ for locking out Starlink

Elon Musk accused unnamed rivals of blocking SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network in India, an apparent swipe at billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal.

SpaceX has been awaiting approval from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government to offer Starlink service in India, where companies controlled by Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel have spent years building formidable positions in telecom.

“Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people,” Musk posted on his social media platform X. “You can guess who they are…”

India’s two biggest private telecom operators, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel, together account for roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, more than 80% of the country’s market, according to the latest government data.

Musk’s broadside marks a sharp turn from last year, when SpaceX signed deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance’s Jio Platforms to offer Starlink’s services in India.

Bharti is one of the largest shareholders in Eutelsat Communications, operator of the Eutelsat OneWeb satellite network that’s one of Starlink’s biggest low-Earth orbit competitors worldwide.

Reliance has its own satellite ambitions through Jio Satellite Communications and its joint venture with Luxembourg-based satellite operator Jio, OneWeb and Starlink are among the three companies that have received India’s satellite-communications licenses, although none has yet fully switched on commercial services.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment sent after regular business hours.

Bloomberg reported in June that India had effectively frozen final approvals for Starlink’s commercial launch due to security concerns. Security agencies under the country’s home ministry withheld clearances for the low-Earth orbit service to begin operations, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Starlink has secured a satellite communications license in India but is still waiting for the security clearances as well as spectrum before it can switch on commercially.

Speaking at an industry conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink business operations, said the company has spent five years working with Indian regulators and had built its network specifically around the country’s security requirements, with “controls at every layer” and Indian user data kept within India.

“We’re standing ready to serve India once India is ready,” she said.

Bharti is one of the largest shareholders in Eutelsat Communications, operator of the Eutelsat OneWeb satellite network that’s one of Starlink’s biggest low-Earth orbit competitors worldwide. Airtel has separately partnered with SpaceX to offer Starlink to its Indian customers, an illustration of the complicated alliances emerging around the market.

Jio Platforms, Reliance’s telecom and digital services arm, is preparing for what may be the biggest initial public offering in India’s history later this month.

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