India Rejects Elon Musk's Starlink Claims as He Questions Ambani Over Delayed Approval

Elon Musk has increased his criticism of the rules which are preventing Starlink from launching in India, referring by name to Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries and asking whether Ambani is "the real boss of India" as well as questioning why Starlink is still waiting for approval.

In the social media post he published most recently—coming just hours after India had denied his previous assertion that "certain oligarchs" were obstructing Starlink—Musk questioned why Starlink is still unable to begin its operations even though it has been working for years with the regulators and has tried to meet all the requirements.

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Elon Musk Tweet on Ambani

India Rejects Elon Musk's Starlink Claims: On X, Musk stated that Starlink holds licenses in over 165 countries and has taken five years to comply with Indian laws and regulations. He then questioned about Ambani being the real boss of India and claimed that the government is more concentrated in saving large businesses than with helping citizens.

The post was published only a few hours after Musk had accused "certain oligarchs" of employing their "monopolistic chokehold" to prevent Starlink from entering India. He then posted several more times, both directly and indirectly, to point out the difficulties his company is encountering in getting into the Indian market.

Elon Musk Oligarchs Statement

Musk stated that it is unfortunate that some oligarchs are blocking Starlink in order to maintain their monopoly over the Indian people. He further stated that it is a crime against the people of India.

Government rejects Elon Musk Claims: The government rejected Musk's assertions, stating that its approval procedure for satellite internet services is fair and gives equal treatment to all companies.

Ministry of Communications Find Elon Musk Allegations Wrong and Without Foundation

India Rejects Elon Musk's Starlink Claims: The Ministry of Communication, without mentioning Starlink or Musk, stated that the allegations of unfair or discriminatory rules are without foundation and wrong. Starlink, Jio Satcom the satellite arm of Reliance Jio and Eutelsat OneWeb which is backed by Bharti still have to complete the necessary security checks and obtain the spectrum approvals before they can begin their commercial services.

The telecom ministry also stated that security checks for all three companies.

Elon Musk India News: Issue Concerns More Than One Company, Says Pemmasani

Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, India's Minister of State for Communications, stated that the issue concerns more than one company. At the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi, he told reporters that the Department of Telecom has already issued licences and provisional spectrum to all the satellite companies. The matter is now pending approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs. After approval, the companies will receive final clearance. He stressed that this is not a matter relating to any one company alone.

Akash Ambani States About Rapid Advancement in the Field of Satellite Communication

India Rejects Elon Musk's Starlink Claims: Backed by Bharti Airtel, Eutelsat OneWeb is also being through the regulatory procedures, finishing pre-launch steps and getting the needed approvals. During an interview, Akash Ambani (Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, informed media about the rapid advancement in the field of satellite communication, although he avoided responding to remarks made by Musk.

He said nothing more besides stating that the company is providing value to Indian consumers. In his statement, Akash cleared about the positive growth made by Jio in regard to development of its satellite technology, but he didn’t mention the deadline for launching its first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Going by chairman of Bharti Airtel and member of the group that backs OneWeb, stated about the awaiting regulatory approval of his satellite venture.

Starlink licence India: Mittal States About His Pending Approvals

India Rejects Elon Musk's Starlink Claims: In response to Musk's assertions, Mittal said his approvals are still pending. Following both his comment about Musk being an 'oligarch' and his remark regarding Musk being 'the real boss', Musk posted several times on Starlink's entry into India and its global activities.

In one of his posts Musk stated that Starlink services would be of assistance to people in India who have the least access to the internet. In another he said, "Those who oppose Starlink are only hurting the most poorly served; the wealthy or people who live in large cities already have good internet and therefore do not understand." He also said, "Starlink will be of great help to parts of India that have poor or no internet and even no mobile coverage.

According to Musk, no country be it United States, has the potential, but with Starlink, there is possibility of covering gaps for the needed. Usually mobile towers, fibre-optic cables are the main centres of getting internet connection, but it is to be known that dependency of reliable internet is based on the proper cables and towers. For cities and well-connected areas, it is indeed very important to have faster and dependable internet.

Services for satellite internet such as Starlink function in a different way: they make use of satellites in orbit to transmit the internet directly to a small dish situated at the user's house or place. Hence, the provision of internet access must be facilitated in the areas where there is problem of laying cables and constructing towers in remote and isolated places.

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