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No villains, just a queue: inside the Musk-India Starlink row
Starlink got its Indian licence more than a year ago. It still has not sold a single internet connection here. And on 7th October 2026, Elon Musk lost his patience in public. He wrote on X that ‘certain oligarchs’, suggesting powerful business owners in Indian telecom, were blocking Starlink. The Indian government replied within a day. It called the claim ‘baseless and misconceived’. Two days later, Musk went further and posted a joking open letter to Mukesh Ambani. Both sides sounded very sure. But each was telling only half the story. So what’s really stopping Starlink?
Think of it as a queue at a government office, but one without a display board. Everyone has a token, but nobody knows when their number will come up. The clerk keeps saying the line is moving. Sooner or later, someone at the back starts shouting. Shouting rarely helps. But asking for a display board is a fair request.
First, look at who is in the queue. Three companies have licences to offer internet from satellites: Starlink, Jio’s satellite company and Eutelsat OneWeb. According to Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, none of them has security clearance yet. Security clearance is the final safety check from the Home Ministry. On 16th October, Reliance said its own satellite service was also still waiting, and that it welcomed competition. So on this point, the government is right. Nobody seems to have jumped the queue.
Next, the licence. Musk asked why Starlink has licences in more than 165 countries but none in India. That was not quite accurate. Starlink got its Indian licence in June 2025, and officials said so. Still, his frustration makes sense. Sixteen months later, Starlink still cannot start selling. It is waiting for three more approvals: security clearance, its share of spectrum (the radio frequencies satellites use to send signals) and permission for its foreign investment. Nobody has said when these will come.
If big Indian companies were really blocking Starlink, some things would not add up. In March 2025, Jio and Airtel both agreed to sell Starlink’s service to their customers. Jio and Airtel also wanted spectrum to be sold through auctions. But the government said no and chose to hand it out directly instead, which is what Starlink wanted. But if this is only about following rules, the rules are moving slowly. The price for the spectrum was approved by a government committee in September. However, the final decision is still pending. Both sides’ stories have gaps. The truth sits somewhere in the middle.
Security is a two-sided issue too. India’s rules dictate that Indian internet traffic must pass through ground stations in India so that security agencies are able to monitor it legally when needed. Companies must also keep watch zones along the borders and coasts. There are reasons for this care. In late 2024, devices with Starlink branding were found during a drug seizure near the Andaman Islands and in a security raid in Manipur. Musk said Starlink’s service is switched off over India, and nothing shows the company did anything wrong. Still, the same rules can affect companies differently. Another reported rule limits how signals move between satellites. Older systems barely notice this. But Starlink’s satellites are built to pass signals to each other, so the rule hits it hard.
It also offers a lesson in how such fights play out. A government file isn't a trending topic, and security checks aren't decided by likes and reposts. No government should approve or delay a licence just because a billionaire posted about it, and New Delhi is right not to rush. But staying silent has a cost too. When officials say nothing for months, people start guessing. The loudest voice then gets to tell the story first. Musk did not create that silence. He just filled it.
Meanwhile, the people who need this most have the least say. As of May 2026, more than 11,000 Indian villages still had no 4G. Satellite internet from any company could help them. Every month lost to online arguments is another month these villages stay offline. And Starlink has not yet said what it will charge in India, so low prices are still only a promise. A student in a remote village does not care whose satellite runs her online class. She cares whether it works and whether her family can pay for it.
Neither side has a perfect record. In 2021, Starlink took advance bookings in India before it had a licence, and was asked to return the money. The government, for its part, has never explained why the security check has taken so long, and has given no deadline. Keeping the details of a security check private makes sense, but keeping the timeline secret is harder to defend.
The good news is that things have calmed down. When Reliance welcomed competition, Musk replied politely: ‘Much appreciated’. The Indian minister has also said a decision on spectrum prices is close. Both are better than the week of angry posts and replies before. If this calmer mood lasts, the next step may come through official decisions instead of tweets.
At last there are no villains in this queue. There is only a long line and a missing display board. Musk should stop guessing who is behind the counter. New Delhi should put up the board: clear rules, a clear date, and the same timeline for Starlink, Jio, OneWeb and Amazon’s Kuiper. The villages at the very back of the line deserve to know when their turn will come.
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