Starlink vs Jio: Reliance fires back at Musk's monopoly charge, says 'never feared competition'

Reliance Industries on Friday said its satellite communications services are awaiting regulatory clearances and welcomed competition from Elon Musk's Starlink in India, responding to the billionaire's allegations that powerful business interests were blocking the service to protect monopolies.

"Every player, Jio included, must serve the people of India and abide by the laws and policies of the land," Reliance said in a statement.

The company said the government applies the same process to every applicant, whether Indian or foreign, and that its own satellite services were also awaiting clearances.

"At Reliance, we have never feared competition. We see it as the truest test of who serves the customer best," the company said.

Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, which operates Starlink, last week accused unnamed Indian business interests of obstructing the satellite internet service's entry into the country to protect their market dominance.

"Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people," Musk said in a post on X.

The Ministry of Communications rejected the allegations saying all three companies licensed to provide Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) services using non-geosynchronous satellite orbit-based systems were at broadly the same regulatory stage.

"Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all the three licensees," the ministry said.

Musk later addressed Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani sarcastically as "Prime Minister Ambani", questioning whether the industrialist was seeking to prevent Starlink from competing in India.

"Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India," Musk wrote on Friday, urging Ambani to allow Starlink to compete in the country.

Musk also argued that Starlink could bring internet access to underserved areas, helping children gain educational opportunities and small businesses reach global markets.

He said the service had also proved essential during natural disasters when other communications systems failed.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday that the country did not permit monopolies in any sector and that consumers should be free to choose their preferred services.

"Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer. It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers, and within that service bouquet, which company's service he or she prefers," Scindia said at the India Mobile Congress.

The minister said Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb have secured licences.

The licensed operators would be assigned spectrum once the government finalised a revenue-based charging framework and could begin operations after individually meeting security requirements, Scindia said.