Elon Musk has accused Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, of obstructing the expansion of Starlink into the country, turning a prolonged regulatory delay into a public dispute between two of the world’s most powerful business figures. The confrontation centres on SpaceX’s efforts to secure permission to operate its satellite internet service in a country with more than a billion internet users, where domestic telecoms companies already command an extensive network and offer some of the world’s cheapest mobile data.
As reported by Observer UK, SpaceX has been waiting five years for security clearance to launch Starlink in India. Musk claimed last week that the service was “being blocked by certain oligarchs” who maintain a “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”. He subsequently named Ambani, describing him as “the real boss of India”, and shared articles about donations made by Ambani’s companies to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Ambani’s position in the dispute reflects the scale of his business interests in Indian telecommunications. His conglomerate owns Jio, the country’s largest mobile network, which, alongside Bharti Airtel, the second-largest operator, controls 80% of mobile revenue in India. Both companies have agreements with SpaceX to distribute Starlink equipment across the country, creating an unusual complication for Musk’s campaign against what he alleges is resistance from powerful domestic business interests.
Neither Starlink nor the two Indian telecoms operators has yet received the necessary clearance to get their satellite internet networks up and running. India’s communications ministry has rejected Musk’s allegations, calling them “baseless and misconceived” and stating that the companies were “broadly at the same regulatory stage”. The ministry’s position directly challenges the suggestion that Ambani has secured preferential treatment or that his business interests alone explain the delays.
The dispute also brings renewed attention to the relationship between corporate power, political influence and state control over communications in India. The country’s economy is dominated by large companies whose owners wield considerable influence over its politics, while telecommunications remains a particularly sensitive sector for the government. Authorities regularly suspend communications during periods of civil unrest, and concerns about the ability of satellite services to operate beyond the reach of conventional network controls have contributed to official caution over their introduction.
India switched off internet services 84 times in 2024, a figure exceeded only by Myanmar. Mobile services were also shut down in central New Delhi over the weekend preceding the source report, ahead of protests over the removal of voters from electoral lists. Such measures illustrate the government’s willingness to restrict access to communications during politically sensitive periods, while satellite internet technology presents a different model of connectivity from the established mobile networks on which most Indians depend.
Musk has portrayed Starlink’s delayed approval as a matter of public interest, arguing that the service could extend connectivity to people unable to access existing networks or afford their current prices. Last week, he described the delays as a “crime against the people of India” and said his technology would provide “high-speed, affordable internet connectivity for those who cannot afford current prices”.
The extent of the potential benefit, however, is disputed by the figures on India’s existing internet infrastructure. About a decade ago, only 15% of Indians used the internet. Today, more than 70% do so, following an extensive expansion of connectivity. Roughly 90% of Indian villages have 4G coverage, while the vast majority also have 5G. These figures suggest that Starlink would enter a market where conventional mobile internet is already widely available, rather than one in which satellite connectivity represents the principal means of getting online.
Affordability presents another obstacle. Mobile data in India is among the cheapest in the world, with 1GB costing an average of $0.16, compared with $1.10 across Asia and $2.08 in Western Europe. By contrast, the upfront cost of Starlink equipment is about $300. SpaceX has not released its Indian pricing structure, but its standard tariff in Sri Lanka is $45 a month. That would represent a substantial expense in India, where the average monthly wage is about $220.
Starlink could still serve a useful purpose in particularly remote areas, including parts of the Himalayas where conventional infrastructure is difficult to establish. Its potential reach, however, does not necessarily translate into a transformative national service. One estimate puts the value of India’s satellite internet market at only $500m by 2030, indicating the limits of the commercial opportunity compared with the scale of the country’s established telecommunications sector.
Musk’s public confrontation with Ambani also carries risks for SpaceX’s wider interests in India. The company has deep ties with the country’s space programme and private space sector, while its distribution agreements with Jio and Bharti Airtel make cooperation with the same companies Musk has criticised commercially significant. His history of online disputes, involving figures ranging from Amazon’s founder to a British cave diver who helped rescue a group of Thai schoolchildren in 2019, adds to the visibility of the confrontation without resolving the regulatory obstacles facing Starlink.
Developments involving Starlink elsewhere may further complicate India’s assessment of the service. Ukraine’s military said that its access to Starlink had been restricted, coinciding with Donald Trump’s pressure on Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian refineries. Musk said the US government was responsible. The episode illustrates the sensitivity surrounding a satellite network whose availability can have implications beyond ordinary commercial internet access, even as SpaceX continues to seek approval to operate in India.
