Security issues behind Starlink delays?
Jayanta Roy Chowdhury
New Delhi, Oct 9 (UNI) Are security and technical concerns holding up Elon Musk's bid to gain a foothold in India's USD 40.62 Billion telecom market? Elon Musk, the celebrity new-age businessman who founded Tesla and SpaceX, is unhappy with India.
His "beef" with New Delhi centres on his claim that powerful domestic Indian business interests, whom he calls "oligarchs", are blocking the commercial launch of his Starlink satellite communications channel from here to protect their telecom monopolies.
The Indian government, on its part, says the process of giving any service provider may be time-consuming but is fair, non‑discriminatory, and merely awaiting standard security and spectrum clearances. Insiders in security services say they need several assurances before these clearances can be given, as satellite-based services such as Starlink have the ability to bypass any tapping or oversight by India's telecom security apparatus.
Top officials told UNI they have had security concerns about Musk's Starlink ever since December 2024, when apparently security forces seized Starlink communication devices from a militant hideout in East Imphal district. "Such satellite-based communications can avoid our detection, and that has been our problem," officials admit.
Starlink has already set up operations in Bangladesh with earth stations in the Chittagong hills. Interestingly, Dhaka gave Starlink permission to export "unfiltered internet bandwidth" to neighbouring countries, which would imply India and Myanmar. Officials want assurances given both technically and legally that India can restrict or suspend Starlink services during emergencies or conflict, such as in Manipur or Kashmir, as well as solemn promises that the network will not follow any conflicting directives given by a foreign government.
Indian licensing norms also require that all Indian user traffic is routed through Indian gateways, and data centres and core network elements are localised here and not abroad. In short, security officials want Starlink to demonstrate "working interception/monitoring at each gateway site, the ability to block prohibited content, and the capacity to suspend services for specific users or areas on security‑agency directions."
However, Musk, in a post on X, has earlier contended that Starlink is being "blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people," adding cryptically, "You can guess who they are… This is a crime against the people of India!"
The billionaire industrialist's comments revived a long‑running dispute with India's two largest telecom operators, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal-run Bharti Airtel, who have argued that satellite spectrum should be auctioned rather than administratively allocated. A move that would disadvantage start-ups using innovative technology such as Starlink.
India's Ministry of Communications, rejecting Musk's discrimination claim, has, however, said the regulatory framework for satellite communications is "fair and non‑discriminatory" and applies equally to all players.
Officials said all three entities, Starlink, One Web and Jio, are at "broadly the same regulatory stage," calling suggestions of unfair treatment "baseless and misconceived." Till date, Starlink has managed to get a satellite‑communication licence, which was given to the firm last year, though commercial operations require security clearances and spectrum allocation before it can start selling its services.
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