Elon Musk alleges “oligarch” interference in Starlink’s India launch

Years into SpaceX’s efforts to get permissions to operate its satellite broadband service in India, the firm’s founder and CEO Elon Musk has accused “certain oligarchs” in India of stimying the service’s launch in India.  Mr. Musk made the accusation on X, formerly Twitter, hours after one of his firm’s executives said she hoped that the service would be live in India by 2027.

Responding to a user on X who was demanding the launch of Starlink in India, Mr. Musk said, “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!”

While Starlink has obtained a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the government has not yet cleared security approvals that Starlink needs to operate. These requirements, some of which were amended last May, require SpaceX to disable Starlink receivers purchased outside India, and to also disable terminals sold in India abroad. This is on top of extensive surveillance requirements that apply across the telecom and broadband sector.

Furthermore, telecom operators have stiffly resisted the so-called “administrative assignment” of satellite spectrum, which would entail allowing Starlink and other operators to use airwaves for a fixed fee, instead of having to participate in an auction. Since satellite spectrum is usually shared without issue in most countries, Reliance Jio has argued that the 2012 2G spectrum judgement of the Supreme Court prohibits such an assignment. The firm has sent legal opinions to the Union government, including one in 2024 by retired Supreme Court justice L. Nageshwar Rao.

“We can’t talk about building the future at scale without talking about closing the digital divide, because otherwise we’d just be building a future that leaves a substantial portion of the population behind,” Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) on Tuesday.