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COVER STORY OCTOBER 16, 2026 | The Indian Eye 6

Infrastructure & Service terminals. But it highlights the impor-
tance of the authorisation process: the
tarlink has sought to strengthen government must be satisfied not only
its case by emphasising the in- that a provider has built the necessary
Svestments it has already made infrastructure but also that its service
in India. can operate within the country’s secu-
Speaking at the India Mobile rity framework.
Congress on October 7, Lauren Starlink says it has developed In-
Dreyer, SpaceX vice-president of dia-specific safeguards and is keeping
Starlink Business Operations, said Indian users’ data within the country.
the company had built 20 gateway These assurances are intended to
sites equipped with hundreds of an- demonstrate that the company un-
tennas. It had also established local derstands the government’s concerns.
operations and developed security The ministry, meanwhile, says the se-
controls tailored to Indian require- curity assessment is still under way.
ments. “We’ve built our Starlink Neither side can resolve the dis-
operations specifically for India in pute through social-media exchanges
recognition of Indian security re- alone. Starlink needs a clear regulato-
quirements and other regulations, ry pathway to commercial operations;
establishing controls at every layer the government needs to complete its
for India, and keeping Indian user The allegations made by Elon Musk has brought an increasingly contentious regulatory pro- assessment and explain the applicable
data within India,” Dreyer said. cess into the political spotlight (agency) requirements without appearing to fa-
She added that Starlink had vour or penalise a particular provider.
been working with Indian regulators, A test for digital market
industry stakeholders and operators ternet subscription density stood at Security is the decisive test
for five years to adapt its opera- 48.31 per 100 people, compared with he Starlink dispute comes at a
tions to the country’s requirements. 126.80 in urban India. Wired con- he security question is especial- moment when satellite com-
“We’ve already made the investment nections accounted for only 4.26 per ly sensitive because Starlink’s Tmunications could become an
and built the existing ground infra- cent of subscriptions. Tnetwork operates through important part of the next phase of
structure here, 20 gateway sites com- These figures point to a per- satellites and terminals rather than internet expansion. India has made
prising hundreds of antennas, and sistent challenge: India’s large inter- relying exclusively on conventional major gains in digital access, but the
we’ve established the operations to net subscriber base does not mean ground-based infrastructure. remaining gaps are often concentrat-
be ready to serve India,” she said. connectivity is evenly distributed or On October 8, Musk rejected ed in precisely the areas where con-
The response from KT Rama that all users have access to compa- claims that Starlink had been used ventional infrastructure is hardest to
Rao, working president of the Bharat rable service. by militants in India. Responding to deploy.
Rashtra Samithi, underlined how India’s challenge is to extend reports that security forces had recov- For Musk, India represents a po-
quickly the controversy has become reliable connectivity without turning ered terminals from insurgent groups tentially significant market for a ser-
political. He challenged Musk to iden- the debate into a choice between ac- operating near the Myanmar border vice he says is already licensed in more
tify the oligarchs, asking him to “name cepting a foreign company’s terms in Manipur, he said: “Starlink beams than 165 countries. For India, Starlink
and shame” those allegedly exercis- and protecting existing providers. are turned off over India, so the claim could provide another option for un-
ing influence over the government. Satellite broadband could comple- that they were used by anyone for any derserved communities, emergency
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the ment terrestrial networks, especially reason is absolutely false.” communications and locations where
Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also in difficult terrain, while remaining That is Musk’s response to the terrestrial networks remain limited.
joined the exchange. After Musk subject to transparent regulatory allegations, not independent verifi- The commercial opportunity
questioned the delay, Gandhi wrote: standards. cation of the reported recovery of is real, but so is the government’s
“Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till responsibility to regulate communi-
you discover the other guy.” cations infrastructure. The issue is
Musk replied: “Thank you, Ra- not whether Starlink should operate
hul. This is indeed troubling.” without scrutiny, but whether that
The exchange has given the con- scrutiny is consistent, transparent
troversy a political dimension beyond and proportionate.
telecommunications policy. It also The next step is straightforward
risks blurring the distinction between in principle: complete the security
evidence of regulatory obstruction assessments, communicate the re-
and allegations about the influence quirements clearly and allow eligible
of business interests. providers to proceed to spectrum as-
The connectivity argument signment. If Starlink is being treated
on the same terms as its competitors,
tarlink’s strongest argument is a transparent process should demon-
that satellite broadband could strate that. If there are specific obsta-
Saddress gaps that conventional cles, they should be addressed through
networks have struggled to close. evidence rather than insinuation.
A post cited by Musk said 11,256 The real test is whether India can
of India’s listed villages still lacked welcome new technology without sur-
4G coverage as of May 2026. It Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia during a meeting with SpaceX rendering its authority over security
also cited 1.093 billion internet sub- President and COO Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink Vice President (Global Business) Lauren and spectrum—and whether Musk can
scriptions in March 2026, of which Dreyer (L), in New Delhi (@JM_Scindia/ANI Photo) challenge the system without assuming
440.87 million were rural. Rural in- that a delay is proof of a conspiracy.

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