New Delhi: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday accused unnamed Indian “oligarchs” of blocking Starlink’s entry into India to protect their “monopolistic chokehold” over consumers.
“Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are… This is a crime against the people of India!” Musk said in a post on X.
He was responding to a post citing government data that 11,256 listed villages lacked 4G coverage as of May 2026. Musk has earlier said Starlink could help connect rural and underserved areas.
Starlink is yet to get the remaining clearances for commercial satellite broadband services in India. It already holds a GMPCS authorisation, and IN-SPACe authorised its first-generation constellation in 2025. Spectrum assignment and security-related requirements are pending. The company has also renewed its push for approval of a larger Gen 2 constellation, including direct-to-device capabilities.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel had pushed for auctioning of satellite spectrum, arguing that satellite operators offering competing broadband should face comparable obligations. The government opted for administrative allocation instead.
A SpaceX executive said Wednesday that the company has built 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas and put in place India-specific security controls, including keeping Indian user data within the country.
Musk did not name any company or individual, and there is no public evidence that domestic telecom firms are responsible for the pending clearances. The matter involves competition, spectrum allocation and national-security requirements.
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