space x Company founder Elon Musk accused vested interests of blocking the launch of his company’s Starlink satellite internet service of a “crime against the people of India” to protect their control over consumers.
The country’s telecom and internet services market is dominated by billionaires Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and Sunil Mittal’s. airtelTogether, the two companies hold more than 80% market share.
“We are being held back by certain oligarchies to maintain their exclusive control over the people of India,” Musk said in a post about X in the US on Wednesday, without naming his rival. “You can guess who they are,” he said.
In his second post, Musk said Starlink in India would “bring fast, affordable internet connectivity to people who can’t afford it today.” Jio, now owned by Reliance Industries, is the country’s largest telecom operator and is widely credited with reducing the cost of high-speed mobile data in the country since the company was founded a decade ago.
In June, Jio Platforms announced plans to roll out low-orbit satellite communications in the country. Akash Ambani, Mukesh’s son, told shareholders that the company aims to quickly roll out satellite connectivity and is partnering with the world’s leading satellite providers to lease satellite capacity.
Last year, SpaceX announced a deal with Jio and Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom service provider, to roll out its Starlink internet service across India. There appears to be little progress in this regard, with Starlink not yet launching in the country.
CNBC has reached out to Airtel and Reliance Industries for comment.
There are currently 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, serving people in more than 170 countries, Loren Dreyer, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink business operations, said in a speech at the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday.
Starlink is working with governments and private companies to bridge the digital divide by providing internet access to people in remote areas, she said, adding that it has “been doing this for years” in India as well, noting the company’s memoranda of understanding with Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Elon Musk’s satellite internet services company has also faced pushback from Indian regulators over security concerns, which the company denies. In June, Bloomberg reported that regulators in New Delhi froze Starlink’s approval over concerns that the company’s terminals could be used even though the company’s services were not licensed.
The Indian government is concerned about foreign companies operating in sensitive technologies like satellite communications, and there are questions about how the Starlink terminals will be “geofenced” and whether the data will be localized, said Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research.
Mr. Shah said approval to launch Starlink is likely to come at a time when Indian companies also develop their own satellite internet services. He added that if Starlink is launched without creating a “level playing field”, it will monopolize India’s satellite communications services.
