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Starlink is seeking approval from the Indian government to offer satellite broadband services, with the Musk-owned company working to address potential security concerns as part of the process.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Security forces seizing two Starlink devices during raids in restive Manipur’s Imphal East district in recent weeks has sparked speculations of satellite internet being used in India. Clearing the air about the buzz, SpaceX founder said Starlink satellite internet is inactive in India.
Starlink is seeking approval from the Indian government to offer satellite broadband services, with the Musk-owned company working to address potential security concerns as part of the process.
In a late Tuesday post on X, Musk stated that “Starlink satellite beams are turned off over India” and that they “were never on in the first place.” His comment came in response to a post by the Indian Army regarding a search operation in Manipur, a state in India’s northeast, where a communal conflict has been ongoing since last year. The Army’s post included photos of seized weapons along with a satellite dish and receiver bearing the Starlink logo.
Two military officers, who spoke anonymously, confirmed that the device with the Starlink logo was being used by a militant group.
They speculated that the device had likely been smuggled through the porous border with Myanmar, which has been engulfed in civil war. Media reports have previously documented the use of Starlink devices by rebel groups in Myanmar, though the company does not operate there either.
Earlier this month, Indian police issued a legal request to Starlink for details on the purchase of a device found in a major smuggling bust at sea. The operation, which involved smugglers carrying $4.2 billion worth of methamphetamine, led to suspicions that the device was being used for navigation.
Since May of last year, ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur has claimed over 250 lives and displaced thousands.