India satellite internet firms respond to Elon Musk amid regulatory scrutiny

A regulatory dispute is unfolding in India regarding satellite internet approvals, involving Elon Musk’s Starlink and domestic giants Bharti Enterprises and Reliance Industries. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, stated at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum that his venture, Eutelsat OneWeb, is “significantly ahead” of Starlink in the approval queue, noting that the company applied five years ago and has had ground networks and satellites ready for years.

Elon Musk has criticized Indian “oligarchs” for allegedly maintaining a “monopolistic chokehold” on digital infrastructure and questioning why Starlink lacks a license despite years of compliance. In response, Reliance Industries stated it welcomes competition but emphasized that all players, including Jio, must abide by local laws. The Indian government has rejected claims of unfair treatment, asserting that the framework is “fair and non-discriminatory” and that all major applicants—Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio Satellite—are at similar regulatory stages.

Amid this tension, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by Nishikant Dubey, has selected satellite internet for a detailed examination. The review will focus on security compliance, spectrum allocation, and local data hosting. Additionally, Mittal and other industry leaders have called for urgent regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence to mitigate risks from autonomous systems.