India’s telecommunications ministry has rejected Elon Musk’s claim that “certain oligarchs” are keeping Starlink out of the country, calling the suggestion that the approval framework “or its application is unfair or discriminatory” “baseless and misconceived”. In an October 8 statement, it defended the satellite internet approval process as fair and non-discriminatory. According to Reuters, the ministry did not name Musk or any company.

Musk made the charge on X this week, writing that Starlink was being blocked by “certain oligarchs” to maintain a “monopolistic chokehold” on Indians. According to Benzinga, which cited Forbes, he added, “You can guess who they are” and called the alleged blockade a “crime against the people of India”. He named no individual or company and offered no evidence. He also said Starlink’s satellite beams were “turned off over India” and had never been on, a reply to claims that militants use the service. The posts came as Starlink executive Lauren Dreyer told India Mobile Congress 2026 on Wednesday: “We’re standing ready to serve India. Once India is ready.”

The ministry said three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage and that security assessments are under way for each. It did not name them, but Reliance Jio, backed by Mukesh Ambani, and Bharti Airtel, backed by Sunil Mittal, also have satellite ventures that Reuters says received early approvals and are awaiting spectrum and final clearances. Neither company had responded to Reuters’ requests for comment. Reuters reports that Starlink has waited four years for its launch, amid scrutiny over security requirements and spectrum access, and that the three businesses had clashed over how spectrum should be assigned before signing separate deals in 2025 to distribute Starlink devices in India. Starlink says it has built 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas in India and added measures to keep user data in the country. Its commercial launch depends on government approval and spectrum allocation, and in August it reapplied to India’s space regulator for approval of its Gen 2 constellation, including direct-to-device connectivity.

The dispute comes as Deloitte forecasts India’s satellite broadband market to reach $1.9 billion by 2030, and as New Delhi and Washington are still trying to finalise a trade deal after agreeing a framework in February. Reuters notes the US has pushed Starlink’s market access as a goodwill gesture in trade talks with tariff-hit countries. In late 2024, Indian authorities reported finding Starlink devices in a police drug seizure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in an army search in Manipur.