Sunil Bharti Mittal, who chairs Bharti Enterprises, told an audience that Eutelsat OneWeb lodged its application for satellite communication licences in India roughly five years before the current wait began, putting it ahead of Starlink in the queue for government clearance — though neither service has yet received authorisation to launch operations in the country.
At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026, Mittal noted that OneWeb's ground infrastructure had been in place for three years and that its satellites had been active over India for five years, adding that he viewed his position in the regulatory queue as ahead of his competitor's. Mittal noted that a licence application for Musk's Starlink venture had been lodged five years prior, with the supporting ground infrastructure having stood ready for the three years preceding that statement. Satellites under that operator's control have maintained orbital coverage of India throughout the preceding five-year period. Authorisation for commercial operations had not been granted.
Receiving regulatory clearance ahead of his competitor would be a welcome outcome, Mittal noted.
A preliminary operating licence covering satellite communication services was granted to Starlink for use within India. Pending those outstanding approvals — spectrum assignment among them, alongside other regulatory and security clearances — commercial operations have not yet commenced.
Musk, in a public statement released earlier this month, contended that unnamed industry figures were actively working to block Starlink's entry into the market so as to shield their own competitive interests. On his own platform, Musk put a public question to his followers about whether Mukesh Ambani — the chair of Reliance Industries — holds dominant influence over India, a post that followed his company's disclosure that it had spent years navigating local regulatory requirements without yet beginning commercial operations there.
Rahul Gandhi, a leader within the Congress party, added his voice to the exchange with a post that read: "Welcome to India, Elon." Musk responded to the post by addressing the other commenter as Rahul and offering thanks. Musk subsequently tagged Ambani with the label "Prime Minister Ambani" on his platform and circulated posts tying donations to both Reliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A written response from the Ministry of Communications pushed back against the allegations put forward by Musk, characterising the notion that India's regulatory framework — or how it had been applied — operated in an unfair or discriminatory manner as without foundation. Satellite communication operators are required to meet the same set of regulatory conditions before rolling out services in India, the government said.
At the India Mobile Congress, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia laid out the government's stance on market competition and technology policy, stating that monopolies were not permitted across any industry and that the Department of Telecommunications held no preference for one technology over another, with the minister adding that delivering a full range of services to every customer remained the department's core obligation. Scindia stated that in an open marketplace, the decision over which service — and which provider within that service — rests entirely with the consumer.
Three firms holding approved licences for satellite-based communications services were identified by Scindia: Starlink, the venture led by Elon Musk; Jio Satellite Communications, operating under the Reliance Jio umbrella; and Eutelsat OneWeb, in which Bharti holds a backing stake. Project Kuiper, Amazon's satellite broadband venture, has put forward its intention to operate within the Indian market. Clearing the mandated regulatory pathway stands as a prerequisite before any services can be rolled out.
