NEW DELHI: In a setback to Elon Musk’s satellite communication company Starlink, India may not allow it to operate in the country due to security concerns. The government will do a thorough risk analysis and look at all aspects before considering the firm’s application for a licence, a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official told this newspaper.
The government’s decision comes in the wake of discovery of Starlink satellite antennas and routers from Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the DoT official said, adding: “Incidents like these have prompted the government to scrutinise Starlink’s licence application.”
The Musk-owned firm has been seeking certain exemptions to enter the Indian market, citing technical limitations. Sources said the Centre was earlier open to easing some conditions for Starlink as a special case, but it is now treading very cautiously.
Till date, the government has granted licences to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and the Jio-SES joint venture Jio Satellite Communications to provide satellite communication services in the country. Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have also applied for licences but neither has been approved by the government.
In 2021, Starlink courted controversy when it accepted pre-orders from Indian consumers before obtaining the licence to operate in the country. Following this, the DoT asked it to refund the pre-orders.
Fresh problems for Starlink emerged in December 2024 when the company’s routers and antennas were discovered in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. Additionally, police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands found that drug smugglers were using Starlink Mini—a portable satellite communication device with an integrated WiFi router—to communicate.
Although Musk claimed that Starlink had “turned off” its services in India, security agencies suspect the devices were used in sensitive areas like Manipur, providing internet access to militant groups. Hence the government’s rethink on Starlink.
