Elon Musk has publicly criticized Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his company, Reliance Industries, as well as Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, alleging they are obstructing Starlink’s entry into the Indian market. Musk claims these companies maintain a monopoly over telecommunications in India, questioning the delay in granting Starlink a license despite five years of compliance efforts.
Starlink first applied for operations in India in 2022 and received a letter of intent from the Department of Telecommunications in June 2025. By January 2026, the department issued unified licenses with GMPCS authorization to OneWeb India, Jio Satellite Communications, and Starlink. However, Starlink still requires security clearance and spectrum allocation to begin commercial services.
The Indian Department of Telecommunications rejected Musk’s allegations of unfair regulatory practices, labeling them as misconceptions. Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that the government does not permit monopolies in any sector. Meanwhile, Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, declined to comment on the matter during the India Mobile Congress on October 8.
Data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as of August 2026 shows that Reliance Jio holds a 39.31% share of the wireless market, while Bharti Airtel holds 38.01%. Together, the two companies control approximately 77.3% of the wireless market and about 84% of the broadband connection market in the country.
