Elon Musk claims "certain oligarchs" are stalling Starlink's India launch to protect a "monopolistic chokehold"; SpaceX signed MOUs with Jio and Airtel in 2025 (Priyanka Salve/CNBC)
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has accused vested interests of blocking the launch of his company's satellite internet service …
Elon Musk has accused certain oligarchs in India of stalling the launch of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service to protect their monopolistic hold on the market. According to Musk, these oligarchs are blocking Starlink's entry into India to maintain their grip on the Indian people.
Musk's comments appear to be directed at billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal, whose companies Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel dominate the Indian telecom market with over 80% of the country's broadband subscribers.
In 2025, SpaceX signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel to offer Starlink's services in India. The Indian government has been assessing Starlink's security and requires all licensed satellite communication providers, including Starlink, to meet the same regulatory requirements before receiving spectrum.
Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Business Standard IN, Free Malaysia Today, CNBC Technology, CNBC — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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