Elon Musk Is Pushing Aggressively To Bring SpaceX’s Starlink to India — Indian Rival Says He’s ‘Significantly Ahead’ of SPCX in Approval Queue

Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) is pushing to bring Starlink to India, but rival Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal says his satellite venture has been waiting years longer for final approvals and remains "significantly ahead" in the regulatory queue. Mittal Says Bharti Is Ahead "We are all awaiting our approvals. I am significantly ahead of him in the queue. I applied five years back," Mittal said Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, as per a clip shared by India’s multimedia newswire service ANI. "My satellites have been hovering over India for the last five years. We don’t have the permission. So, we will be very happy to get it at least a few days before him." #WATCH | Delhi | Bloomberg New Economy Forum | Over Elon Musk's tweet on Starlink, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal says, "We are all awaiting our approvals. I am significantly ahead of him in the queue. I applied five years back. I have had my ground network ready… pic.twitter.com/eC01MGXGYf— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2026 Mittal’s Bharti backs Eutelsat OneWeb, one of Starlink’s principal satellite-broadband rivals. Reuters reported that OneWeb, Starlink and Reliance Jio’s satellite venture have all obtained early approvals but remain subject to spectrum allocation and security clearances, with the government saying the three are at broadly the same regulatory stage. Musk Escalates Attacks Over India Approvals Musk has sharply escalated his criticism in recent days. Last week, he accused unnamed "certain oligarchs" of blocking Starlink to preserve a "monopolistic chokehold," without providing evidence. India’s communications ministry rejected that allegation as "baseless and misconceived," saying the three operators remain at broadly the same regulatory stage. Musk’s attack followed Starlink’s disclosure that it had built 20 gateway sites across India. Read Also: SpaceX's Starlink Going Interplanetary? Elon Musk Outlines Vision for Moon, Mars and Beyond Musk later directly targeted billionaire Mukesh Ambani, asking on X whether Ambani was "the real boss of India?" Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia responded that "India does not allow a monopoly in any sector." Reuters said Starlink’s effort to launch in India has stretched across roughly four years. The SpaceX CEO subsequently called Ambani "Prime Minister Ambani" and asked whether he would allow Starlink to compete. He also argued that Starlink would have to make its India pricing affordable, saying competition would give consumers more choices. Reuters noted Indian mobile data costs about 8 cents per gigabyte, among the world’s lowest. Starlink Partners With Its Indian Rivals Despite the public sparring, Starlink has partnerships with both Bharti Airtel and Jio to distribute its services once approvals arrive. Reuters said the companies struck those agreements in 2025 after earlier disputes over how India should assign satellite spectrum. Musk has also argued that Starlink can address India’s connectivity gaps, saying in August it could help the "least served" people, particularly in rural areas. Read Also: SpaceX Starlink Mobile’s Biggest Hurdle? Deutsche Telekom CEO Says Elon Musk Must Match T-Mobile's 85,000 Antennas Photo courtesy: Shutterstock