“India does not allow monopoly dominance in any sector,” said Union Minister for Telecommunications Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The Union Minister gave this response to a question about the allegation made by American entrepreneur Elon Musk that his company’s satellite communication service, ‘Starlink,’ was being blocked.
‘Some wealthy tycoons have blocked Starlink’s satellite communication services in order to maintain their monopoly in India. You can guess who they are. This is a crime committed against the people of India,’ Elon Musk alleged. He also asked, ‘Is Ambani, the head of Reliance and Jio telecom companies, the real leader of India?’
India denied Elon Musk’s allegations.
In this context, journalists asked Union Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia about Elon Musk’s allegation at the Friday session of the India Mobile Congress being held in Delhi.
Responding to this, he said, “India does not allow monopoly dominance in any sector. The role of the telecommunications sector is to provide a wide range of services to customers. In a free market for these services, it is the customer’s responsibility to choose the service of the company they prefer.
At this stage, controversial remarks are being made regarding a particular company in connection with the license to provide satellite communication services. However, the Central Government has granted this license to three companies: Starlink, Jio Satcom, and Eutelsat OneWeb. Amazon’s subsidiary has also expressed interest in obtaining this license.
In this satellite communication service, when the Central Government decides on a revenue-based pricing model, the spectrum will be allocated to the companies that have obtained the license for it. In addition, once these companies individually fulfill the security conditions, they can begin service operations,” he said.
Earlier, in a clarification issued by the Union Ministry of Telecommunications on Thursday regarding this, it said, “The government has created a fair and non-discriminatory authorization framework for all telecommunications services, including satellite communication services. The government has granted licenses to three companies—Elon Musk-led Starlink, Jio Satcom, and Eutelsat OneWeb—to launch satellite communication services in India.”
Before these companies can begin service, it is necessary to obtain spectrum allocation and security clearance. This is pending with the Union Home Ministry. It noted that once the security assessment process is completed, the next step of requesting spectrum allocation can be taken.’
