India has frozen the final regulatory approvals Starlink needs to launch commercial operations in the country, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The decision lands at an acutely uncomfortable moment: SpaceX's IPO, expected to raise $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation, is days away, with pricing on the 11th, and trading on the 12th.
Security agencies under India's Ministry of Home Affairs withheld the clearances after reports emerged that Starlink terminals were being used inside Iran during the ongoing Middle East conflict, despite the service not being licensed to operate there. The episode heightened fears in New Delhi about its ability to control a US-based operator during geopolitical tensions.
The decision took effect on June 9, 2026. SpaceX had already cleared the two biggest regulatory hurdles in India, securing both a Unified License and GMPCS authorisation from the Department of Telecommunications in 2025.
In a social media post Starlink VP of operations Lauren Dreyer said the company "remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources."
Financial disclosures ahead of the IPO showed that Starlink's customer growth is already slowing.
