Reliance Industries has welcomed Elon Musk’s Starlink as a competitor in India’s satellite communications market but said every operator, including Jio, must follow the country’s laws, policies and security requirements. The statement came as Reliance prepares for the proposed Rs 30,213-crore initial public offering of its digital services business, Jio.
Reliance was responding to a series of posts by Musk on X in which he accused “certain oligarchs” of blocking Starlink’s entry into India and subsequently named Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. In an early morning statement on Friday, the company rejected the suggestion that it feared competition.
“We welcome competition in satellite communications, including Starlink. Every player, Jio included, must serve the people of India and abide by the laws and policies of the land,” Reliance Industries said.
The company said Jio had entered India’s crowded telecom market in 2016 without a customer and had since built a base of more than 53 crore customers. It also said its growth had taken place in an environment that welcomed both domestic and international investment and innovation.
Reliance linked the dispute to the government’s licensing and spectrum-allocation process. “That openness rests on the rule of law. As govt of India has stated, it applies the same process to every applicant, Indian or foreign. Jio’s own satellite services await clearances,” the company said.
The government has also rejected Musk’s allegations. Union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said last Thursday at India Mobile Congress that three companies had received licences to provide satellite communications services in India. He said spectrum would be assigned after the government decided the charge system based on revenue, and after each operator fulfilled the required security conditions.
The licensed companies are Sunil Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, Reliance Jio and Musk’s Starlink. Their proposed services are expected to use satellite networks to provide connectivity in locations where installing terrestrial broadband infrastructure is difficult or not currently possible. This gives the regulatory process importance beyond the commercial rivalry between the companies, particularly for remote areas and communities without reliable ground-based networks.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is also seeking a licence to operate in India, adding another potential entrant to the market. The companies will need to meet the government’s licensing, spectrum and security requirements before beginning operations.
The immediate dispute centres on whether India’s approval process is being applied equally to domestic and foreign applicants. Reliance said its own satellite services were still awaiting clearances, while the government said all licensed operators would need to meet the same process and conditions. The next operational milestones are the government’s decision on revenue-based spectrum charges and the completion of individual security clearances.
