Why Elon Musk is taking on India's richest man over Starlink

Wednesday's row unfolded as senior executives from Starlink, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel gathered at the India Mobile Congress in Delhi, where all three companies discussed their plans for satellite internet services.Speaking at the event, Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Mukesh Ambani's son, said the company was developing its own satellite communications technology and working towards regulatory approvals.Asked by a reporter about Musk's allegations, Akash declined to comment and only said, "We want to be heads down and deliver value to our Indian consumers." Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said his company's satellite venture was also awaiting government approvals.SpaceX executive Lauren Dreyer, who oversees Starlink's business operations, said the company had spent years working with Indian regulators and had built security controls into its network to meet the country's requirements.Security has been a key concern surrounding Starlink's entry into India. In 2024, Indian authorities said they had recovered Starlink equipment during a drug-smuggling investigation in the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and an army operation in the northeastern state of Manipur.Musk said at that time that Starlink's service had never been active in India, arguing that the equipment recovered by authorities could not have been using its satellite network.Questions also remain over how affordable the service would be for Indian consumers, particularly those in rural areas.