BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has characterized the entry of Starlink into the Indian market as a significant challenge for the country’s security agencies. Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on communications and IT, Dubey stated that organizations such as the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and various investigation agencies are being impacted by threats posed by the satellite internet operations.

Regulatory Stage and Security Assessment

The Ministry of Communications stated that all three licensed satellite communication operators are at the same regulatory stage and are currently undergoing mandatory security assessment. The licensed entities include Starlink, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, and the Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Once these security assessment processes are completed, companies may proceed to seek spectrum assignment.

Key details regarding the current regulatory framework include:

• Three licensed satellite communication operators hold satcom service licenses in India.
• Starlink, Reliance Jio, and Eutelsat OneWeb are currently at the same regulatory stage.

Dubey highlighted that concerns regarding these types of threats are not new, noting that the Manmohan Singh administration had communicated them to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as early as 2013-14. Asserting that India will not change its security policy under pressure, Dubey stated that national security concerns take precedence over commercial interests.