Vishwakhabram: Is Elon Musk’s company Starlink really a wolf hiding in sheep’s skin?

Elon Musk’s company Starlink wants to provide satellite broadband internet service in India. Starlink wants to start business in India as soon as possible. In this regard, Elon Musk had also announced his visit to India but then he postponed it. Now Elon Musk has got an important responsibility in the Donald Trump administration. There are many people in the Trump administration who want to deepen relations with India. Elon Musk himself is a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has also been praising Elon Musk on various occasions. Therefore, a perception emerged that Elon Musk, who has good relations with the Prime Minister, can easily get entry to do business in India, but the Indian government has made it clear that Starlink has not yet met the security norms and it should not be allowed to operate satellites. License for communication services will be issued only if the company meets all the requirements for services in India.

Meanwhile, a shocking study has also come out about Starlink. Research institute ‘Diplomacy Foundation’ has underlined the deep ties of American giant Starlink with American intelligence and military agencies, saying that these can hinder national interests. Calling Starlink a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the Diplomacy Foundation said Starlink is a dual-use technology, whose biggest customers and promoters are the intelligence and military agencies of the US government. Let us tell you that old mobile phone service providers use telecommunication towers to provide voice and internet services whereas in satellite communication or SATCOM, a group of satellites will be used to provide this service. Since the control of the satellites is outside the country, many questions have arisen.

The Diplomacy Foundation said in a report that the Starlink satellite constellation is a new form of worldwide Internet service providers, which goes beyond geographical demarcation and natural boundaries. It has direct access to every citizen of the world. Let us tell you that Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with an American intelligence agency. A dispute had arisen between the administration of US President Joe Biden and the company due to the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war. Let us remind you that billionaire Elon Musk had openly supported Donald Trump against Biden’s party’s Kamala Harris in the recently concluded US presidential elections. Elon Musk said last year that he had rejected Ukraine’s request to activate its Starlink satellite network to aid in an attack on the Russian fleet.

The Diplomacy Foundation, citing reports of some contracts between Musk’s companies and US agencies, said in its report that these are known contracts for Starlink as part of the US intelligence-military-industrial complex, but there are many confidential agreements and There are also contracts which have not been disclosed. The report said that apart from this, it is well known that Starlink owner Elon Musk is close to various private intelligence companies and is a quite active personality in American politics. The report said that companies led by Elon Musk disrespect the sovereignty and democracy of countries like Brazil, Ukraine and Iran. The report states that Starlink is (very clearly) a technology of geopolitical control, being pursued by intelligence and defense forces for space dominance and thereby control over land.

At the same time, if we talk about the reaction of the Central Government on the issue of giving entry to Starlink in India, then let us tell you that Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that Starlink, owned by industrialist Elon Musk, has not yet met the security norms. He said Starlink will be issued a license for satellite communications services only if the company meets all the requirements for services in India. The minister said that the satellite internet service provider is in the process of fulfilling all the requirements. After completion of the process they will get the license.

Let us tell you that at present the Government of India has issued license to Jio Satellite Communications, a joint venture of Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Jio-SES. Both the companies have not yet started their operations as they are awaiting spectrum allocation.

Let us also remind you that Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, has been trying to enter the Indian market for several years. In 2022, the company was directed by the Government of India to refund all pre-booking amounts to consumers in the country. At that time, Starlink was pre-booking connections without obtaining a license and ultimately had to comply with the government order. Let us also tell you that it is being told that Starlink has not yet complied with the request of the Government of India to submit the names and details of its stakeholders. If seen, it is important for the Indian government to know who are the stakeholders of Starlink? Security is a big issue for India and Starlink has not yet shared information about its stakeholders with the government. Apart from this, there are other things on which the company will have to give clarity. Such as where users’ data will be stored and how the data can reach authorities in special cases?

However, Starlink cannot ignore the Indian market because its size is very huge. With more than a billion people, this is a market that no company in the world would want to ignore. Starlink has already reached more than 100 countries with its services, but India is a market where the company has not yet entered. One of the other challenges for Starlink in India is how spectrum will be allocated to satcom companies in the country?

-Neeraj Kumar Dubey