Reliance Industries told reporters it holds no apprehension about Elon Musk's Starlink entering the Indian market, adding that its own satellite internet offering is also awaiting regulatory clearance. The statement was issued in direct response to repeated assertions by Musk that entrenched interests were blocking Starlink's path into the Indian market.
In a public statement, Reliance indicated that adherence to Indian laws and regulations applies across all companies, with serving the public described as the foremost objective. A Friday statement from the company described India's environment for investment and innovation as one where domestic and foreign participants operate under identical regulatory procedures, with no distinction drawn between applicant types.
Addressing what it described as recent commentary about Reliance and the Indian market, the organisation published a notice on X setting out its account of the facts. Reliance has expanded within a broader national business environment where both domestic ventures and overseas capital have operated under policies aimed at raising living standards.
Legal frameworks form the foundation on which that kind of openness depends. The procedure used for every applicant — whether from India or abroad — follows a uniform standard, according to official statements from the government.
Jio's satellite operations remain pending regulatory approval, while the company noted through a statement that Reliance has not shied away from competitive markets. The company framed that arrangement as the measure that most reliably reveals which provider delivers the greater value to customers.
When Jio launched operations across India's telecom sector in 2016, its subscriber base stood at zero. Over a decade of operation, Jio has accumulated a subscriber base reported at more than 530 million, while data connectivity across the country has expanded considerably in both reach and affordability.
Reliance issued a statement expressing openness to rivalry in the satellite communications sector, with Starlink among the players involved. The company's statement was issued after SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk put forward the position that the conglomerate stood to benefit from the existing market arrangement and that the arguments against Starlink's entry into India were, in his view, contradictory. The company's statement added that every licensed operator, Jio included, operates under Indian law and carries an obligation to serve the country's people.
Writing on X, Musk described the arguments put forward by what he characterised as Ambani's network of paid online promoters as illogical and without merit. He identified two positions in the reasoning that he said pulled against each other: Starlink was cast as too financially weak to threaten Ambani's hold on Indian pricing, yet at the same time treated as a competitive force substantial enough to warrant keeping out of the market altogether.
Musk contended that opening the market to more providers would expand the options available to ordinary consumers in India, even at the cost of incumbent operators' margins, adding that broader competition has historically delivered tangible benefits to everyday citizens. In a written assessment, an analyst noted that Ambani's earnings would take a hit while stopping short of predicting any threat to the viability of his business operations.
Starlink's path to commercial operation in India had drawn objections from Musk on grounds of anti-competitive conduct within the country's telecoms sector, along with questions about the licensing framework standing in the way of its launch. In a separate online post, Musk directed remarks toward the government, sarcastically styling the Prime Minister as "Ambani" and offering mock contrition for having failed to recognise who he described as the true power running the country.
The government pushed back on Musk's characterisation that Starlink faced discriminatory treatment at the behest of a "local oligarch," with Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stating that permitting any monopoly in the satellite communications sector was not under consideration. Three organisations are awaiting final regulatory approval to operate under commercial licences, he added.
A regulatory pricing framework for satellite communication services was nearing a definitive resolution, according to remarks made by Scindia. Operators holding a licence — Starlink among them — are required to satisfy applicable security standards before any commercial activity gets under way.
Approval to operate satellite internet services in India has not been granted to Starlink, with a senior government official pointing to the company's position on rules that mandate locally based infrastructure for providers in that sector. Approval for the company to launch its services hinges on two conditions being met: resolving outstanding security concerns and committing to build local base stations.
Serving as the initial link between personal devices and a wireless network, a base station combines transmitter and receiver functions within a single piece of radio infrastructure. Mandating the installation of base stations gives regulators a mechanism for verifying that operators are meeting their legal obligations.
Three firms — Reliance Jio, Eutelsat OneWeb (backed by Sunil Bharti Mittal), and Starlink, the venture associated with Elon Musk — have put forward plans to roll out satellite-based communication services across India. Mittal, who chairs Bharti Enterprises, told reporters that Eutelsat OneWeb — Airtel's satellite arm — filed its regulatory paperwork ahead of Starlink and has therefore moved further through the approval process, positioning it to clear the required clearances first.
