Reliance Industries on Friday said it has never feared competition and that India’s regulatory framework treats domestic and foreign companies equally, responding to recent criticism by billionaire Elon Musk over delays in the launch of his satellite internet service, Starlink, in the country.
“In light of recent remarks about Reliance and the Indian market, we wish to place the facts on record,” the company said in a statement.
“Like every Indian enterprise, Reliance has grown in an India that welcomes investment and innovation, homegrown or international, that improve the lives of the people,” it said.
The company maintained that India’s openness to investment was underpinned by the rule of law, pointing out that its own satellite services were also awaiting regulatory approvals.
“That openness rests on the rule of law. As the Government of India has stated, it applies the same process to every applicant, Indian or foreign. Jio’s own satellite services await clearances,” Reliance said.
Rejecting suggestions that it was opposed to competition, the company cited the growth of its telecom business since its launch in 2016.
“At Reliance, we have never feared competition. We see it as the truest test of who serves the customer best,” it said.
The company pointed out that Jio had entered India’s crowded telecom market in 2016 without a single customer and had since expanded its subscriber base to over 530 million.
“In just ten years, Jio has earned the trust of over 530 million customers and given Indians some of the best digital infrastructure and most affordable data in the world,” the statement said.
What Elon Musk said about Reliance
The response comes after Musk repeatedly targeted Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani over delays in Starlink’s commercial launch in India, accusing him of seeking to protect his position in the country’s telecom market.
On October 11, Musk renewed his attack, accusing Ambani’s online supporters of “absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole” for making contradictory arguments about Starlink’s competitiveness.
In a post on X, Musk questioned how Starlink could simultaneously be considered too expensive to compete with Jio’s low-cost services and a serious competitive threat to the company.
He argued that allowing Starlink to operate would increase consumer choice and benefit Indian customers. Musk also said that even if additional competition reduced Ambani’s profits, it would not drive him out of business.
Earlier, Musk had sarcastically addressed the Reliance chairman as “Prime Minister Ambani”, alleging that he wielded influence over Starlink’s entry into India.
“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote on X, accusing Ambani of seeking to preserve a monopoly and questioning whether Starlink would be allowed to compete.
Musk has argued that Starlink could improve internet connectivity in remote and underserved areas, expand access to education and digital markets, and provide essential communications during natural disasters.
The controversy has also drawn a response from the government, which has rejected suggestions that the regulatory approval process favours any particular company.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on October 9 that India does not allow monopolies in any sector and that the Department of Telecommunications follows a technology-agnostic approach.
He said three companies — Starlink, Reliance Jio’s satellite venture Jio Satcom, and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb — had secured satellite communication licences but would be permitted to begin operations only after fulfilling the prescribed security requirements and regulatory milestones.
The government has maintained that its authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is fair and non-discriminatory, dismissing allegations of selective treatment as baseless.
The dispute comes as satellite broadband providers seek to enter India’s internet services market, where Starlink and domestic telecom operators are preparing to compete for customers, particularly in areas underserved by conventional networks.
