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Starlink India licence row: Musk asks if Ambani is the ‘real boss’, Centre denies bias

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The Starlink India licence row escalated on Thursday, 8 October 2026, when Elon Musk asked on X whether Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani was “the real boss of India”, hours after the Centre rejected his claim that “certain oligarchs” were blocking SpaceX’s satellite internet service, The Hindu and India Today reported.

What Musk said

On Wednesday, Musk wrote that Starlink was “being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”. On Thursday he doubled down.

“Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no license? Is Ambani the real boss of India?”

Elon Musk, on X, 8 October 2026

He also posted that Starlink could fill coverage gaps in areas with poor or no internet and mobile coverage.

Centre calls the claim baseless

The Ministry of Communications said, without naming Musk, that India has a “fair and non-discriminatory” framework and that the suggestion it was being applied unfairly was “baseless and misconceived”. It said Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb all hold GMPCS licences and must show compliance with security conditions, and that security assessment for all three is under way.

Key facts

  • 3 satellite licensees: Starlink, Jio Satcom, Eutelsat OneWeb
  • None can start commercial service before security checks and spectrum assignment
  • SpaceX says it has set up 20 gateway sites in India

Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani told India Today TV, “No comments. We want to be heads down and deliver value to our Indian consumers.” At India Mobile Congress on Wednesday, Starlink vice-president Lauren Dreyer said, “We are ready to serve in India, once India is ready.”

What happens next for the Starlink India licence

Why it matters

Satellite broadband could reach remote villages where cables and towers are hard to build. The approval timeline for Starlink, Jio and OneWeb will decide when Indian users get this option, and the public spat raises the political stakes around that decision.

Source: The Hindu, India Today, Hindustan Times

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