Upping the ante in the war over providing satellite internet connectivity in India, tech trillionaire Elon Musk has once again taken to his own social media platform, X, and fired a volley.
For spectrum to be assigned and services to begin, however, the companies have to demonstrate compliance with security conditions.
“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote. The Centre has said security assessment, which is part of this process, is underway.
“A post is being circulated on social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner. Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he wrote. “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?
The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services,” it said. Musk took to X again on Thursday and asked why Starlink has not received the licence, claiming that it had complied with “every single law” of the government of India.
In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the Ministry of Communications said the claim was baseless.
The controversy began on Wednesday, when Musk, responding to a user on X, said Starlink, was being blocked in India by some “oligarchs”.
