Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal says India must retain the ability to slow or shut down Starlink’s network if SpaceX’s satellite internet service enters the country. His comments highlight a key hurdle beyond licensing: how Indian authorities would oversee network controls tied to national security and regulation.
Mittal calls for India to hold the network controls
Speaking to NDTV on November 13, Mittal said Elon Musk appeared impatient and frustrated with the pace of Starlink’s approval process in India. He said Starlink could sell its service in the country, but that India should hold the key controls.
“The kill switch has to be in India, the control has to be in India,” Mittal said. The “kill switch” refers to the ability to reduce network speeds or shut the service down. For a communications network that relies on satellite coverage, that authority can determine whether service remains available in specific circumstances.
Mittal heads Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator. The group also backs OneWeb, a Starlink rival that was still awaiting Indian approval at the time of publication.
Starlink still lacks approval to sell in India
India is a significant potential market for satellite internet providers, but Starlink has not yet been cleared to sell its service there. Mittal’s remarks do not change that status or set out a timeline for approval. His focus was on the conditions for network control if Starlink is eventually allowed to operate.
The debate therefore extends beyond market access. Control arrangements could shape how Starlink operates, while the ability to start, restrict or suspend service is an important consideration for Indian regulators overseeing a foreign satellite network. It remains unclear whether the Indian government has formally proposed specific requirements or whether Starlink would accept the arrangement Mittal described.
Ukraine adds context to the control debate
Mittal pointed to Starlink’s role in Ukraine as an example. SpaceX’s military version of the service in the country was reportedly throttled for 10 days in October. The episode drew attention to control over satellite networks and showed how an operator’s ability to adjust speed or availability can matter in conflicts and other sensitive situations.
A month earlier, Musk had called Indian entrepreneur Mukesh Ambani the “real boss” of India and linked Starlink’s failure to enter the country to obstacles in the local market. Mittal, another Indian telecom billionaire, has now spoken publicly about Starlink, focusing on network control rather than competition alone.
Meanwhile, shares of Reliance’s Jio Platforms were trading about 25% above their IPO price. That provides a snapshot of the capital-market backdrop for India’s telecom sector, but Starlink’s approval to sell in the country and the terms governing network control remain unresolved.