Elon Musk reacts to Scindia, says will do its best to serve people of India

Elon Musk, owner of the Starlink global satellite constellation, has posted on X that Starlink “will do its best to serve the people of India”.

His latest post on came after an international citizen journalist with the handle `DogeDesigner’ and reckoned to be close to Musk, separately posted on X on Wednesday after the Indian government said it will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively and not via auctions.

“This is good news for Starlink….(especially) after Elon Musk criticised the auction route being sought by (Indian) billionaire (and Reliance Industries Chairman) Mukesh Ambani,” DogeDesigner posted on the microblogging platform, X.

On Tuesday, India’s communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said spectrum for satellite services would be allocated administratively but at a cost that would be decided by the telecom regulator. His comments had come on a day Musk had made his intentions clear of planning to compete and offer Internet services in India through Starlink, setting the stage for a fierce battle with India’s top telcos including Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal-headed Bharti Airtel.

Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal has joined rival, Jio, in making a case for equal treatment between telecom and satcom services. Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb too is vying to commence satcom services in India soon.

Earlier, Ambani-led Jio had written to Scindia, seeking auction of satellite spectrum and reissuance of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recent consultation paper on the matter to ensure a level playing field between satcom and terrestrial, or mobility, networks.

But the government appeared to be backing Musk, who had earlier posted on X that calls by Jio and Bharti Airtel to auction satcom spectrum would be “unprecedented as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU (International Telecom Union) as shared spectrum for satellites”.

Starlink runs a low-earth orbit (LEO) global satellite constellation and offers broadband-from-space services in various countries already. It has the technical capability to deliver satellite broadband services on smartphones anywhere on the planet. This, at a time when the company is set to receive a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit from the Indian government to launch satellite broadband services in the country.

Earlier, addressing reporters on Day 1 of the India Mobile Congress 2024, Scindia had said: “Telecommunications Act, 2023, clearly states the satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. But that doesn’t mean (such) spectrum doesn’t come without a cost. What that cost is, and what the formula of that costing is going to be, will be decided by Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).”

The minister had said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has already circulated a paper on the matter.

“The regulatory authority… has been empowered by the constitution to decide what that administrative pricing is going to be,” the minister said. “I am very confident they will come up with the best pricing that should be adopted, provided that it’s being given in an administrative manner.”

He had added that satellite spectrum is allocated administratively around the world and India isn’t doing anything different.

But Jio has slammed the Trai consultation process on the matter, saying the paper does not seek to discuss issues around level-playing field between telcos and satcom companies.

A top Jio executive even told reporters that India’s telecom market leader is open to “a legal challenge” if spectrum for satellite communications is allotted without taking into account a level-playing field with telcos.

“Satcom and terrestrial networks will in future offer similar services, and thus need to be treated similarly, under similar regulations,” the Jio official told ET.

Even Bharti’s Mittal — in comments which appeared to signal a change in stance — joined rival Jio in making a case for equal treatment for telecom and satcom services. Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb is looking to commence satcom services in India soon.

The latest developments come days after Starlink was allowed by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide its emergency direct-to-cell satellite connectivity to restore fast broadband coverage in parts of North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Starlink’s direct-to-cell technology has been making waves in the global telecoms space, especially since it enables seamless access to text, voice and data on 4G phones wherever one may be on land, lakes or coastal water. Starlink already has satellites in space that can directly beam phone signals to smartphones. More importantly, Starlink’s ability to deliver satellite broadband services on smartphones anywhere on the planet comes at a time when the company is set to receive a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit from the Indian government to launch satellite broadband services in the country.