Govt says satellite internet rules fair after Musk's Starlink bias claim

The Indian government has stated that its rules for satellite internet providers are fair, following a claim by Elon Musk that his company, SpaceX's Starlink, is being blocked by rivals in the country. Musk accused unnamed oligarchs of trying to maintain their monopolistic hold on the Indian people.

According to the government, all three licensed satellite communication providers, including Starlink, are undergoing security assessments and must meet the same regulatory requirements before receiving spectrum. Bloomberg previously reported that India had effectively frozen final approvals for Starlink's commercial launch due to security concerns.

Musk's comments appear to refer to Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, and Bharti Airtel, controlled by Sunil Bharti Mittal, which together account for over 80% of India's broadband subscribers. Starlink has signed deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance's Jio Platforms to offer its services in India, but has yet to receive approval from the government.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business Standard IN, Free Malaysia Today, CNBC Technology, CNBC, CNBC World — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.