Starlink India launch: Why Elon Musk is still waiting
Despite securing key approvals, the Starlink satellite internet service remains in regulatory limbo, raising questions about security clearances, competition and India’s investment climate
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has escalated his criticism of the delay in launching Starlink in India. Last week, he sarcastically referred to Mukesh Ambani, one of India's richest people and chairman of Reliance Industries, as "Prime Minister Ambani" and accused his supporters of protecting a monopoly.
"Would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?" Musk wrote on X, arguing that the service could bring internet access to underserved communities across India.
Rahul Gandhi, a leader of the opposition Indian National Congress, joined the discussion, writing: "Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy." Musk replied: "Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling."
A delayed launch and a war of words
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Gandhi of championing Musk's interests, while party leaders defended the government's handling of the issue.
Speaking during the India Mobile Congress 2026 in New Delhi last week, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani declined to comment on Musk's remarks. He said: "I have no comments to make. We want to keep our heads down and deliver value to our Indian consumers."
Akash, Mukesh Ambani's eldest son, also noted that Jio was progressing on its own end-to-end indigenous satellite broadband technology stack.
Meanwhile, Starlink — despite securing key approvals and signing distribution agreements with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel — has yet to begin commercial operations in India.
Its low-earth-orbit satellites could provide internet access in remote villages, hilly regions and border areas where fiber-optic networks and mobile towers are expensive to build.
But the service would enter a market where mobile data is inexpensive and established telecom operators have extensive networks.
India's Ministry of Communications says security assessments for all three licensed satellite operators are under way and that they are at broadly the same regulatory stage.
In a statement, the ministry said every licensee must meet security conditions intended to protect users and their data. Once an assessment is completed, an operator can seek spectrum assignment. It described allegations that the framework was unfair or discriminatory as "baseless and misconceived."
Legitimate security concerns?
Starlink secured a satellite communications licence from the Department of Telecommunications and authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center in 2025. These approvals do not automatically permit commercial operations, however.
The security debate surrounding Starlink has intensified following remarks by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey, who chairs a parliamentary committee. In a post on X on 11 October, Dubey said the panel had examined Starlink's security challenges.
"As the chairman of the parliamentary committee, our committee has understood the challenges facing the country's security agencies through Starlink," he wrote in Hindi.
Responding to Musk's criticism, Dubey added, "India is a healthy democratic, sovereign nation, and it does not change its security policy under pressure from social media or external figures."
Dubey did not specify the security risks or regulatory requirements holding up the launch.
Former intelligence officer and national security expert Yashovardhan Jha Azad said the impasse reflected commercial competition, regulatory uncertainty and legitimate security concerns.
"The central question is: who retains effective control over an essential communications service during a crisis?" Azad told DW.
He said India needed safeguards covering traffic routing, lawful interception under due process and cybersecurity.
"The existence of security requirements, however, does not establish why Starlink's application remains pending," Azad said. He pointed out that the government has not publicly detailed which specific conditions, if any, the company still needs to satisfy.
Investment, manufacturing and affordability
The delay in Starlink's launch has raised questions about the predictability of India's investment environment.
Economist Lekha Chakrabarty, who has studied the issue closely, said the problem was not that India was shutting its doors to foreign investment, but that companies could not plan around an open-ended approval process.
"The Starlink impasse is best read not as India closing its door to foreign investment, but as a failure to make an already open door predictably passable," Chakrabarty told DW.
She said security reviews were necessary given the sensitivity of satellite communications, which involve critical infrastructure, cross-border data, gateway control and lawful interception.
But the problem, she said, was the lack of transparency around approval criteria and timelines.
"Investors can price known rules, they cannot efficiently price discretionary, multi-agency processes with uncertain endpoints," Chakrabarty added.
Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association, said Starlink's entry could create opportunities for Indian electronics manufacturers in satellite terminals, antennas, communication modules and network equipment.
"India already has a strong trusted electronics manufacturing base, which provides an opportunity for global technology companies to develop local partnerships and strengthen domestic supply chains," he told DW.
Murali Krishnan is a journalist based in New Delhi, focusing on Indian politics, society and business.
Disclaimer: This article first appeared on DW, and is published by special syndication arrangement.
