New Delhi, Oct 14 A Parliamentary panel has selected satellite internet as one of the key subjects for a threadbare examination in the coming days, amid the ongoing row over Elon Musk’s remarks on the delay in the government’s approval of his company Starlink to launch the service in India.
Musk’s Starlink, along with Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite, have applied for permission to start satellite internet service in the country.
Jio Satcom is Reliance Jio’s satellite venture, while Eutelsat OneWeb is backed by Bharti, which runs the pan-India mobile and internet network, Airtel.
BJP MP Dubey, who is the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, said the panel has selected satellite internet as one of the subjects for close examination.
“We will discuss the satellite net issue at our meeting in the coming days,” Dubey told PTI after a meeting of the panel.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has accused powerful business interests of blocking Starlink’s entry into India to launch the satellite internet service.
In a series of posts on X last week, Musk targeted Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, sarcastically addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and questioning whether he wielded greater influence over India’s decisions than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Musk also alleged that some business groups are seeking to preserve a “monopolistic chokehold” on Indian consumers.
However, the Ministry of Communications has rejected the charge, describing suggestions that the regulatory framework or its application was unfair or discriminatory as “baseless” and “misconceived”.
The government said that satellite operators must meet the same regulatory requirements, including security conditions and spectrum allocation rules, before they can begin commercial services in the country.
The government has been maintaining that three operators – Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications – were at broadly the same stage of the approval process, with all three awaiting security clearances and spectrum allocation before they can launch commercial services.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said last week that the three ventures had secured satellite communications licences.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper has also expressed interest, but it must follow the established procedure, he said.
Scindia said spectrum would be assigned once the government finalises a revenue-based charging framework and individual operators fulfil the security requirements.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are close to a decision on satellite spectrum pricing, he added.
The distinction between a licence and operational approval is central to the dispute: securing a licence does not automatically allow a company to begin commercial services. Spectrum assignment and the fulfilment of security conditions remain the key steps.
(PTI News)
