Austin (Texas) [US], October 11 (ANI): SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who also heads satellite communications company Starlink, on Saturday (local time) further argued for Starlink’s proposal for commercial operations in the Indian market, arguing that competition would give consumers more choices.
He also targeted the head of a leading Indian conglomerate, describing arguments against Starlink’s entry as “absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole” and those defending the existing market as “an army of Internet shills.”
In a fresh post on X, Musk said, “The ridiculous arguments by Ambani’s army of Internet shills make no sense. On the one hand, they say Starlink couldn’t possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambani’s de facto monopoly in India and then, in the same breath, they essentially claim that Starlink would be too strong of a competitor! This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole.”
He acknowledged that greater competition could reduce the profits of existing players but said it would not necessarily threaten their business.
“The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business,” he wrote.
“Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable,” Musk added.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2108994867582095465
Musk was responding to a post by Aaron Burnett, CEO of Mach33 Financial Group, who questioned the narrative that India’s internet is “great and super cheap.” Burnett said the claim holds true largely for mobile usage, noting that India’s market is “absolutely dominated by mobile.”
According to Burnett, mobile usage in India stands at around 30-40 GB a month, 20-50 per cent above US and UK levels, while home fibre lines pull closer to 300 GB a month, a 10x gap compared with 20-30x in the US and UK.
“I’d argue that it’s not very hard to believe that these paltry sub 5% fixed customer penetration numbers would be much higher if a cost effective alternative existed,” he said, adding that fixed customer numbers could jump from 6 per cent to 10, 15 or even 20 per cent, or 100-200 million customers.
Musk’s latest remarks come amid a debate over Starlink’s entry into India’s satellite communications market and the regulatory process for its commercial launch, following an earlier post in which he sarcastically addressed the head of a leading Indian conglomerate while seeking permission for Starlink to compete in the country.
“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete? There are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no Internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and for small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better. Thank you,” his post read.
“Also, Starlink has proven to be essential for saving lives during natural disasters throughout the world, when all other communications systems have failed, so you would also be helping save men, women and children throughout India,” he added.
The posts come after Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday that there was no question of allowing any monopoly in satellite communications and that three parties are in line for final approval for commercial licences.
“Let me be very clear. India does not allow a monopoly in any sector. And therefore, even as Satcom is concerned there is not a single licensee that has been chosen. Licenses have been given to everyone who wants to provide these licenses. And today there are three licenses that are out there,” Scindia said.
“There is a lot of conversation about a particular party. But there are three parties that have got licenses. There is Reliance Jio, there is OneWeb, and there is Starlink. And there is another party that is also interested in procuring a license. Now that process has to be followed by that party, that’s Amazon,” the Minister said.
Scindia said India is close to a final decision on the pricing framework for satellite communication services, and that all licensed operators, including Starlink, must meet security requirements before commercial operations begin.
“Initially whether spectrum will be assigned or auctioned, that decision was taken. Secondly, irrespective post that administrative assignment, what the pricing regime will be. And TRAI and DOT have been in conversations on that. We are close to taking the final decision with respect to that. And the third has to do with security requirements and requisites being followed,” he said.
“Revenue charges system is finalized once each one of these parties, party A, B, and C, all three individually based on their achievement of milestones with regard to security concerns and prerequisites have fulfilled the requirements, then obviously they can start operations. But that has to be a compliance that is done by each one of them individually,” he added.
Musk had earlier alleged that Starlink was being blocked by powerful business interests despite spending five years complying with Indian requirements.
The Ministry of Communications rejected those allegations, saying all three licensed operators were at broadly the same regulatory stage. It said security assessments were under way for all three and that each could proceed to seeking spectrum assignment after completing the required process. (ANI)
Related reading
