Govt rejects Musk's claim that Starlink India plans being blocked by 'oligarchs'

The government on Thursday rejected Elon Musk's allegation that Starlink's plans in India were being blocked by “certain oligarchs”, saying the country's regulatory framework for satellite communication is fair and non-discriminatory.

The Ministry of Communications said all three licensed satellite communication operators are currently at broadly the same stage in the regulatory process and are undergoing security assessments before they can seek spectrum assignment.

The ministry issued the clarification after a social media post raised questions about the fairness of India's regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggested that it was being applied in a discriminatory manner.

It said the government has established a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication. Under this framework, licences have been issued to three Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite services based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit-based satellite communications, as part of the government's effort to enable satellite communication services in India.

The ministry said the terms and conditions of the licences require every licensee to demonstrate compliance with security requirements.

According to the ministry, these requirements are intended to ensure that the services meet various security standards and protect the safety of users and their data.

Security assessments are currently underway for all three licensees, it said. Once the process is completed for a licensed entity, it can move to the next stage of seeking spectrum assignment.

“At present, all the three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage,” the ministry said, adding that the suggestion that the regulatory framework or its implementation was unfair or discriminatory was “baseless and misconceived”.

Musk had alleged that Starlink was being blocked in India to protect a “monopolistic chokehold”. He described the alleged obstruction as “a crime against the people of India”.

The ministry reiterated that security compliance is mandatory for all licensees to protect users and their data and said assessments were underway for all three operators. It again termed claims of discriminatory regulation “baseless and misconceived”.

Meanwhile, Starlink has said it has established 20 gateway sites in India and developed security controls specifically for the country.