New Delhi: Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday, October 9, said India would not allow a monopoly in satellite communications, responding to Elon Musk’s claim that vested interests were blocking Starlink’s licence.

Scindia said three companies, Reliance Jio, OneWeb and Starlink, had received licences to provide satellite communication services. Amazon is also interested but must complete the process to obtain one, he said.

“No single licensee has been chosen,” the Minister said, adding that licences had been issued to all companies seeking to provide the services. He said each operator would have to meet the required milestones, including security requirements, before beginning commercial operations.

The Government is close to finalising the pricing framework for satellite communication services, Scindia said. The decision to assign spectrum administratively rather than through an auction has already been taken. The Department of Telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are discussing the pricing regime, he added.

Once the framework is finalised, each licensed operator must independently fulfil security conditions and other prerequisites. Companies that meet those requirements can then seek spectrum assignment and move towards launching services, Scindia said.

His remarks followed Musk’s allegation that Starlink was being held back by powerful business interests, despite spending five years meeting Indian requirements. The Communications Ministry has rejected claims of unfair treatment, saying the three licensed operators are at broadly the same regulatory stage.

The Ministry said security assessments were under way for all three companies. Each must complete the required process before proceeding to the next stage, including seeking spectrum assignment.

The rollout of satellite services in India will therefore depend on the final pricing framework and each operator’s compliance with security requirements, rather than on a licence alone.