Musk Blames ‘Oligarchs’ For Delay in Starlink’s India launch

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6. Musk Blames ‘Oligarchs’ For Delay in Starlink’s India launch

Elon Musk has accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking Starlink’s launch in India to protect their grip on the telecom market, drawing a swift rebuttal from the government and a response from Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal.

“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,” Musk wrote on X late Wednesday, 7 October. “This is a crime against the people of India!”

Musk did not name any company or individual or provide evidence for the allegation.

The Ministry of Communications rejected the claim on Thursday, saying India has a “fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework” for telecom services, including satellite communications.

Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications and Eutelsat OneWeb have licenses to provide satellite communications services in India but are still undergoing security assessments. The government said all three are at “broadly the same regulatory stage”.

“As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the ministry said.

Companies can seek spectrum assignment after completing the security assessment.

Mittal also pushed back against the suggestion that Starlink was being held back while rivals moved ahead.

“We are waiting for our own approvals,” he said at India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Thursday, referring to Eutelsat OneWeb, in which Bharti has an investment.

Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani declined to comment on Musk’s remarks when asked at the conference.

Musk’s intervention came hours after SpaceX executive Lauren Dreyer said at India Mobile Congress that Starlink had largely completed the groundwork needed to launch in the country.

Dreyer, vice president of Starlink business operations, said the company had built about 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas and adapted its network to Indian security requirements.

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

Starlink also plans to keep Indian user data within the country, according to Dreyer.

The company already has a satellite communications license and authorization from space regulator IN-SPACe, but it still needs security clearance and spectrum before it can begin commercial operations.

Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite are also waiting for those steps to be completed.

Musk made his comments in response to a post about the gap between internet access in rural and urban India. He argued separately that Starlink could provide high-speed internet to people who either have no connection or cannot afford available services.

 

Starlink’s main pitch in India has been its ability to connect remote areas where mobile towers and fibre networks are difficult or expensive to build. But its entry has been caught up for years in a wider dispute over how satellite broadband should be regulated.

Reliance had previously argued that satellite spectrum should be auctioned, saying companies such as Starlink could eventually compete directly with terrestrial telecom operators. Musk opposed that approach and argued for administrative allocation, the model subsequently adopted by the government.

The relationship between Starlink and India’s largest telecom groups has since become less straightforward. In March 2025, both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio announced separate agreements with SpaceX to distribute Starlink equipment and services in India once regulatory approvals were secured.

The companies are therefore potential Starlink partners even as they compete with it through their own satellite businesses. Musk’s use of the word “oligarchs” nevertheless triggered immediate speculation because Reliance and Bharti dominate India’s private telecom market.

He did not say whether he was referring to either group.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K.T. Rama Rao responded by urging Musk to identify those he was accusing, saying he should “name and shame the oligarchs”. There is no public evidence so far that Reliance, Bharti or another business group has intervened in Starlink’s current security assessment.

The government says the same requirements apply to all three licensed operators. The dispute comes as India Mobile Congress puts the country’s telecom ambitions on display. Starlink used the event to stress that it had built infrastructure and adjusted its systems to Indian requirements. Its rivals, meanwhile, are promoting their own satellite and next-generation connectivity plans.