Elon Musk escalated his public dispute over Starlink’s entry into India on Friday, addressing Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” in a post on X and asking whether he would nonetheless let the satellite internet service compete. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the post came hours after Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told a briefing at the India Mobile Congress in the capital that India does not permit monopolies in any sector.
What Musk said
In the post reported by The Indian Express, Musk wrote: “Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.” He then asked whether Ambani would consider allowing Starlink to compete, and accused him of wanting to preserve what Musk called his “monopolistic exploitation” of Indians, The Hindu BusinessLine reports.
Musk argued that many parts of India, as in all countries, have no internet access, which he said denies children education and stops small businesses selling to a global market. He said Starlink would change those lives for the better. Within minutes he posted again, saying Starlink has proven essential for saving lives during natural disasters worldwide when all other communications systems have failed, and that allowing it would help save men, women and children across India.
Daily Post Nigeria reported the same remarks, framing them as Musk accusing Ambani of seeking to maintain a monopoly in India’s telecommunications sector. Neither Ambani nor Reliance is quoted in response in any of the four reports, and none records a company statement on the allegations.
India’s response
Scindia said the Department of Telecommunications is “technology agnostic” and that its job is to offer a bouquet of services, leaving customers in a free market to choose the service and the company they prefer. Returning to the no-monopoly line he had used at the start of the same briefing, he noted that while there is a lot of conversation about one particular company, three entities have obtained satcom licences: Musk’s Starlink, Reliance Jio’s satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.
He also said Amazon’s satellite venture has expressed interest and will have to go through the established procedure. The sources name that venture differently: The Hindu BusinessLine calls it Amazon’s Kuiper, while The Indian Express refers to Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Leo as being in contention for a licence.
A Thursday statement from the Ministry of Communications, issued through the Press Information Bureau, said the government has a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite services, according to Outlook India. It said security assessments are under way for all three licensees, which it placed at broadly the same regulatory stage, dismissed suggestions of unfair or discriminatory treatment as “baseless and misconceived”, and said licensees must demonstrate compliance with security conditions aimed at protecting users and their data.
Why it matters
For anyone waiting on Starlink availability in India, the dispute is about sequencing. On the government’s account, a licensed operator must complete its security assessment before it can seek spectrum assignment, and only then start operations once milestones are met. Scindia said spectrum will be assigned once the government decides the charging system on a revenue basis, and that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the telecom department are close to a final decision on satcom spectrum pricing — a gating item for all three licensees at once rather than for Starlink alone. The price still unsettled is therefore the one the government will charge for spectrum: none of the four reports gives a consumer price for an Indian Starlink subscription or a launch date for retail plans.
How the row built up
Outlook India reports that on Wednesday Musk said Starlink was being blocked by “certain oligarchs” seeking to maintain a “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”, calling it a crime against the people of India. He was replying to an X account, DogeDesigner, which had urged authorities to complete Starlink’s clearances. Musk did not name the individuals or companies.
On Thursday, after the ministry’s rebuttal, Musk asked whether Ambani is “the real boss of India”, saying Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries — his own figure, not an official one — and has spent five years complying with every law and requirement of the Indian government. Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi replied, “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy,” Outlook India reports.
Scindia also used Friday’s briefing to attack the Congress party over the Musk–Gandhi exchange, saying he did not think the party itself knew whether it was going left or right, and that it had first objected to a certain person getting a licence and now objected to that person not getting one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the last regulatory approval Starlink received in India?
The Indian Express reports that last July Starlink received authorisation for its satellite constellation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), which industry executives described as the final regulatory approval needed to launch. Before that, the paper says, the company had received an operator licence from the Department of Telecommunications, three years after first applying.
Why has the Indian government not cleared the launch of satcom services?
According to The Indian Express, the government has yet to green-light a formal launch over security concerns, and satcom applications are pending security clearance at the Home Ministry. The paper says the concern stems particularly from anxieties that foreign satcom operators could bypass Indian gateways, leaving the government without control over the service.
What has Bharti Airtel said about Musk’s claims?
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal dismissed Musk’s claims, according to The Indian Express, pointing out that his own venture Eutelsat OneWeb is also still awaiting the approvals it needs to start operations in India.
Is Reliance Jio building its own satellite network?
The Indian Express reports that Reliance Jio is building a sovereign low earth orbit constellation in India and is considering a network of 1,600 to 1,650 satellites at an estimated cost of $10-15 billion. The paper frames this as context for the delay in Starlink’s final security clearance.
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