ET Intelligence (Aug 8) — SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on social platform X on Wednesday (7th), accusing certain Indian 'oligarchs' of obstructing SpaceX's deployment of its Starlink satellite broadband network in the country. Although Musk did not explicitly name anyone, it is widely believed he was indirectly referring to Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal.
Jio, owned by Ambani, is India's largest telecom operator, and together with Airtel, owned by Mittal, they collectively serve about 910 million broadband users in India, holding over 80% market share.
Musk stated: 'Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs who are trying to maintain their monopoly control over the Indian people—you can guess who they are.' He later posted again, saying the Starlink satellite network could enable affordable high-speed internet access for people in India.
India's Department of Telecommunications responded, stating it has already issued operating licenses to three satellite communication providers. While not disclosing the names, it emphasized that licensed operators must comply with the country's security requirements, and added that certain allegations criticizing government regulation as unfair and discriminatory are baseless and misleading. Reports indicate that the Starlink satellite network received its license from the Indian government last year. (rc)
Jio, owned by Ambani, is India's largest telecom operator, and together with Airtel, owned by Mittal, they collectively serve about 910 million broadband users in India, holding over 80% market share.
Musk stated: 'Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs who are trying to maintain their monopoly control over the Indian people—you can guess who they are.' He later posted again, saying the Starlink satellite network could enable affordable high-speed internet access for people in India.
India's Department of Telecommunications responded, stating it has already issued operating licenses to three satellite communication providers. While not disclosing the names, it emphasized that licensed operators must comply with the country's security requirements, and added that certain allegations criticizing government regulation as unfair and discriminatory are baseless and misleading. Reports indicate that the Starlink satellite network received its license from the Indian government last year. (rc)
