Musk Questions Ambani's Role in 5-Year Starlink India Delay as Government Defends Licensing
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 8
Musk Questions Ambani's Role in 5-Year Starlink India Delay as Government Defends Licensing
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 8
Summary
Mukesh Ambani became the focus of Elon Musk’s latest attack after Musk asked on X whether the Reliance chairman was “the real boss of India” and why Starlink still lacks a license.
India’s communications ministry rejected the allegation, saying Starlink and two other satellite operators are at broadly the same regulatory stage and still must clear security assessments before seeking spectrum.
More than five years into its India push, Starlink says it has over 20 gateway sites, hundreds of antennas and a local team in place, while reiterating at India Mobile Congress that it is ready to serve the market.
The dispute follows earlier clashes over spectrum allocation and a 2022 refund of Starlink preorders; India later adopted Starlink’s preferred administrative spectrum model, but commercial launch timing remains unclear.