The Indian government felt hesitant about Starlink before SpaceX’s IPO

SpaceX’s plans to add millions of new subscribers to its satellite internet network may be stalled by Indian government concerns that the company is not complying with its laws.

SpaceX has received a license to begin operating in India in 2025, after years of lobbying officials in New Delhi. While progress has been made toward deploying the service there, Bloomberg now reports that Indian officials have paused efforts after SpaceX allowed Starlink to reach inside Iran despite not having legal permission to operate there.

“Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based on unconfirmed claims from anonymous sources,” Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink operations, said in a social media post. Bloomberg did not mention that discussions had stopped.

A delay in introducing the service in India could be a hurdle ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, as financial disclosures have shown that Starlink’s customer growth is slowing.

The value of SpaceX’s Starlink network depends on the number of countries it can serve; There is a set cost to building the global infrastructure, and revenues depend on the number of subscribers using the service. Market access is done on a country-by-country basis, with many governments seeking to protect local telecom companies through joint ventures, or impose direct control over who can access service and how.

India has set requirements for local data storage and network security that SpaceX has worked to meet. However, anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the government is concerned that it will not be able to effectively exercise control over Starlink, following unauthorized use in Iran.

SpaceX’s control of the network has been an issue before. Ukrainian forces using Starlink to fight the Russian invasion complained after their service was cut off in 2022, when Musk became concerned about its progress. Starlink’s talks with Taiwan’s government have not progressed due to Musk’s previous claims that the country is part of China, and the company’s apparent refusal to work with local partners there.