Washington DC: In August, Elon Musk shared DogeDesigner's X post 'India needs @Starlink' with the comment: 'Starlink would help the least served in India, especially in rural areas.' By October, the SpaceX boss went all turbo, accusing Indian 'oligarchs' of blocking Starlink's entry into the country to protect a 'monopolistic chokehold'.
Musk may be right about Starlink connecting India's 'least served' regions. But India's satcom debate has narrowed to a pricing exercise: whether spectrum should cost 4% or 5% of AGR, what urban users should pay extra, how long assignments should run.... These numbers matter for operators' margins. But there's a bigger question: which bloc will Indian skies belong to?
