Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday underscored that “India does not allow a monopoly in any sector”, following a series of posts by SpaceX and Starlink boss Elon Musk who had claimed the company’s licences were being blocked by vested interests.
The government and Elon Musk engaged in a verbal spat on Thursday after the Telecom Department rejected allegations that Starlink’s satellite internet services were being blocked by domestic business interests. Responding to Musk’s allegations that Starlink’s satcom services are being blocked, the government said yesterday that demonstrating compliance with security norms is an absolute must for every satcom licensee in the country. And today there are three licences that are out there,” Scindia said.
“Let me be very clear. India does not allow a monopoly in any sector. Licences have been given to everyone who wants to provide these licenses. “There is a lot of conversation about a particular party. But there are three parties that have got licences. There is Reliance Jio, there is OneWeb, and there is Starlink. And there is another party that is also interested in procuring a licence.
And therefore, even as Satcom is concerned there is not a single licensee that has been chosen.
Now that process has to be followed by that party, that’s Amazon,” the Minister said. The Minister said that India is close to taking a final decision on the pricing framework for satellite communication services and all licensed operators, including Starlink, must meet security requirements before they can proceed towards commercial operations.
It said security assessments were under way for all three and that each could proceed to the next step of seeking spectrum assignment after completing the required process.
The Ministry of Communications had earlier rejected allegations of unfair treatment, saying all three licensed operators were at broadly the same regulatory stage.
