Starlink responds to Reliance; ready to connect India with high speed internet

ElonMusk owned satellite communication venture Starlink on Friday said it has worked with Indian regulators industry and operators for over five years and built dedicated infrastructure all with the requisite government approvals in a reply Reliance Industries statement that it welcomed competition in satellite communications including from Starlink but all players must comply with Indian lawsWe have worked closely with regulators industry and operators in India for 5 years and built a network of dedicated systems gateways and other infrastructure all incountry to exclusively serve Indian traffic safely and securely and all with the requisite government approvals Starlink said in post on X while tagging Reliance Industries statement on the social media platformIt further said Starlink is ready to connect India with highspeed internetWe have worked closely with regulators industry and operators in India for 5 years and built a network of dedicated systems gateways and other infrastructure all incountry to exclusively serve Indian traffic safely and securely and all with the requisite government approvals Starlink is ready to connect India with highspeed internetmdash Starlink Starlink October 16 2026Meanwhile Musk replied to Reliance Industriess statement on X saying Much appreciated according to news agency IANSThe latest post comes amid Musk criticising the Indias satellite communications landscape and raising questions about the competitive environment He had targeted Reliance Industries and Mukesh Ambani over the delay in rolling out Starlink services in IndiaReliance had responded to Musks allegationsReacting to the series of allegations by Musk Reliance Industries on Friday had said it was placing the facts on recordAt Reliance we have never feared competition We see it as the truest test of who serves the customer best it saidWhile pointing out to its own entry in the crowded telecom market with Jio it had said We welcome competition in satellite communications including Starlink Every player Jio included must serve the people of India and abide by the laws and policies of the landLike every Indian enterprise Reliance has grown in an India that welcomes investment and innovation homegrown or international that improve the lives of the people it saidThat openness rests on the rule of law As the Government of India has stated it applies the same process to every applicant Indian or foreign Jios own satellite services await clearances it addedMusks allegationsIn a series of posts on social media platform X recently Musk took a dig at Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh AmbaniHe had questioned whether Amani had a greater influence over Indias decisions and had said Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India so why still no license Is Ambani the real boss of IndiaDear Prime Minister Ambani Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India Musk posted Naturally you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete he had said in a post on XEarlier last week the SpaceX founder and CEO Musk without mentioning any company had alleged that certain oligarchs have blocked Starlink in India to maintain their monopolyUnfortunately we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian peopleYou can guess who they are This is a crime against the people of India Musk had posted on his social media platform XIndian government had refuted Musks claimsThe Ministry of Communications had said that any suggestion that the framework or its application was unfair or discriminatory baseless and misconceivedIt had said all telecom operators providing satellite communication services are required to meet the same licensing and security conditions before they can proceed to the spectrum assignment stageScindia had said no monopoly in any sectorCommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said India doesnt allow monopoly in any sector including satellite communicationLet me set the record straight For us the Department of Telecommunications we are technology agnostic Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers and within that service bouquet which companys service he or she prefers he had saidScindia said that three entities that include Musks Starlink Reliance Jios satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bhartibacked Eutelsat OneWeb have already secured licences Amazons Project Kuiper has expressed interest and will need to undergo the established procedure he had addedWe are very clear on our stand There are three parties that have got a licence as and when the government decides the charge system on the revenue basis that spectrum will be assigned to them and as and when they individually fulfil the security conditions they can start operations Scindia had saidHe had also informed that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI and the telecom department are close to a final decision on pricing regime for satcom spectrumWith inputs from IANS