Reliance Welcomes Starlink Competition, Says Jio Also Awaits Clearance

Reliance Industries on Friday, October 16, said it welcomes competition in India’s satellite communications market, including from Elon Musk’s Starlink, after Musk publicly blamed Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani for delays in Starlink’s Indian launch. In a statement posted on X, Reliance said all companies must follow Indian law and that its own Jio satellite services are also still awaiting government clearances.

What Musk Said and How Reliance Replied

Since October 7, Musk has posted a series of messages on X suggesting that unnamed “oligarchs” were blocking Starlink to protect a monopoly, and later named Ambani directly. He argued that competition would benefit Indian consumers and that Reliance’s profits would fall without the company going out of business.

Without naming Musk, Reliance said it wanted to set the record straight on recent remarks about the company and the Indian market. “At Reliance, we have never feared competition,” the company said. It added that the government applies the same approval process to every applicant, Indian or foreign, and that “Jio’s own satellite services await clearances”.

Where Approvals Stand

According to the government, Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications and Bharti-backed OneWeb India have received preliminary licences and are undergoing security assessment before they can begin commercial services. Last week, the government said all three were at broadly the same regulatory stage and called claims of unfair treatment baseless.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said there is no question of allowing a monopoly in satellite communications and that a decision on the pricing framework for satellite services is close, The Tribune reported.

Why It Matters for Ordinary Users

Satellite broadband can reach villages, hill areas, islands and border regions where laying fibre or building towers is costly. For farmers, small shops, schools and health centres in such places, more providers could mean better connectivity and more pricing choices.

The timing of final approvals, and the prices that follow, will decide how quickly that reaches households. India’s telecom rules are already changing for users, as seen in the caller name display rollout on 4G and 5G networks. Reliance’s earlier push into mobile data was covered in Mukesh Ambani’s plan to make India 2G-free.

No date has been announced for final commercial clearances for any of the three satellite operators.

Based on reporting by The Tribune and Forbes.

Image: The Tribune.