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. Earlier reporting noted: Scindia on Friday said India doesn’t allow monopoly in any sector.
“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. For us, the Department of Telecommunications, we are technology agnostic… Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer.
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. Earlier reporting noted: India doesn’t allow monopoly; satcom licencees can start only after security norms met: Scindia Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday asserted that India does not allow monopoly in any sector, and said despite the buzz around one “particular” company, the fact is three players have received satcom licences and can start operations after individually meeting security requirements and milestones. It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers, and within that service bouquet, which company’s service he or she prefers,” the minister said at a briefing at India Mobile Congress here.
Earlier reporting noted: “Let me set the record straight.
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.
