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The ongoing legal and corporate tussle over satellite broadband internet spectrum allocation in India and the commercial license of Starlink has now escalated into a highly charged public controversy globally. Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), has made a direct and sarcastic attack on Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani. In his explosive post on ‘X’ late night, Musk directly addressed Mukesh Ambani. ‘Dear Prime Minister Ambani’ (Dear Prime Minister Ambani) and openly accused him of creating obstacles in the entry of Starlink to maintain its monopoly in the Indian telecom market. After this taunt of Musk, debate has erupted in Indian industry, political circles and social media.
Elon Musk took to his official handle and wrote:
“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, please accept my humble apologies that I did not realize that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopoly…”
Musk further said that Starlink has proven its usefulness during natural disasters around the world, when all traditional communication networks come to a complete halt, Starlink has proven helpful in saving lives. Musk alleges that Reliance Jio is opposing the Administrative Allocation of satellite spectrum in India only so that cheap and high-speed satellite internet services of foreign companies can be stopped and Jio’s dominance in the domestic telecom market remains uninterrupted.
Reliance Jio and Starlink have been at loggerheads for a long time over the way spectrum is allocated for satellite internet services in India:
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Starlink and global companies’ side: Musk’s company Starlink, Amazon’s ‘Project Kuiper’ and global satellite organizations argue that under the global rules of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), satellite spectrum is never sold through auction, but is allocated on administrative basis as ‘Shared Spectrum’. Conducting an auction will greatly increase costs, which will have a direct impact on the prices of services.
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Reliance Jio’s stance: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Airtel have been saying from the beginning that satellite broadband services will eventually provide the same voice and data services as traditional telecom operators. Therefore, to ensure a ‘level playing field’, satellite spectrum should also be auctioned in an open auction like 4G/5G. Giving spectrum free or at administrative rate could cause loss to the government exchequer and would discriminate against domestic telecom companies.
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has clarified the government’s stand on these allegations of Elon Musk. The Union Minister made it clear that the Government of India does not allow monopoly in any field. He said that the government is completely technology agnostic and in a free market, customers have the right to decide which service they want to choose. The minister also added that currently all three entities, Starlink, Reliance Jio and OneWeb (backed by Bharti Airtel) are at the same regulatory level. The government and TRAI are reviewing the revenue sharing arrangement and compliance with national security related conditions. The final decision on spectrum allocation will be implemented as soon as the companies complete the necessary formalities related to India’s national security and local data storage.
This sarcasm of Musk has also intensified political activities in the country. Congress MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, reacting to Musk’s statement, wrote on Twitter, “Welcome to India, Alan. Just wait until you get to know the other person.” Musk also retaliated on this statement of Rahul Gandhi and wrote, “Thank you, Rahul. This is really worrying.” After this, the rhetoric between the spokespersons of BJP and opposition parties has intensified. The ruling party says that India will not compromise with its national security rules and transparent telecom guidelines under pressure or threats from any foreign billionaire.
This dispute is not just a battle for supremacy between two billionaires, but is related to the future of digital connectivity in remote and hilly areas of India. Even today, providing mobile towers and fiber cables to remote villages in the Terai areas of Uttar Pradesh, North-Eastern states, Ladakh, Andaman and Uttarakhand is a very difficult and expensive task. Starlink and satellite internet can bring a revolution in such remote areas. At present, all eyes are on the upcoming final recommendations of TRAI and the decision of the Union Cabinet, which will decide what will be the rates of satellite spectrum in India and whether Elon Musk’s Starlink will be able to fly in the Indian skies without any legal hassles.