With both Airtel and Jio announcing partnerships with Starlink, the Congress on Thursday, 13 March, alleged that these have been orchestrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi "to buy goodwill" from US president Donald Trump through 's owner — who is also the chief of the US’ new department of government efficiency ().
The opposition party also said that many questions remain and the most important one relates to national security.
general secretary (in-charge, communications) Jairam Ramesh said that within literally 12 hours, both Airtel and Jio have announced partnerships with Starlink — seemingly overcoming all their objections to its entry into India, which they had been voicing for quite some time.
"It is abundantly clear that these partnerships have been orchestrated by none other than the PM himself to buy goodwill with President Trump through Starlink's owner Mr. Elon Musk," Ramesh alleged.
"But many questions remain. Perhaps the most important one relates to .
"Who will have the power to switch connectivity on or off when national security demands it? Will it be Starlink or its Indian partners?
"Will other satellite-based connectivity providers also be permitted and on what basis?" the Congress leader asked on X.
And, of course, the much larger question of Tesla manufacturing in India remains, he added.
Is there some commitment to it now that Starlink's entry into India has been facilitated, Ramesh wondered.
So, billionaire 's Jio Platforms struck a deal with , the aerospace company led by Musk, to bring Starlink's broadband internet services to India — a surprise move that follows months of bickering over how Musk's venture should be granted spectrum rights.
The deal with Musk — considered Trump’s right-hand man — comes right after telecom tycoon 's Bharti Airtel also signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX.
Yet barely a few months ago, rivals and had come together to demand an auction be held to award spectrum for satellite services in India, as they feared an administrative allocation would give Musk airwaves at a price lower than what they had paid via auctions in the past.
Starlink is the world's largest low-earth-orbit (LEO) constellation operated by SpaceX.
Per the new deal, Jio is soon to offer Starlink equipment in retail outlets and online stores and also support customer installation and activation on devices. Jio and SpaceX will also explore how they can boost each other's offerings.
On Tuesday, 11 March, Bharti Airtel announced that it is entering into an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet service to India on a non-exclusive basis.
Bharti already partners with , the second-largest LEO constellation.
Edited PTI inputs
