India has effectively frozen approvals for Elon Musk’s space-based internet service Starlink to begin commercial operations, due to concerns over the use of its satellite terminals in the Iran war, according to people familiar with the matter. Security agencies under India’s Ministry of Home Affairs have withheld the final clearances Starlink needs to launch, the people said, requesting not to be identified as the information was private. As the company’s primary revenue engine, Starlink is central to that valuation, and the delay highlights a risk investors may have overlooked: Its global expansion is far from uniform. The service has effectively been shut out of China. And India – the world’s most populous nation and one of the largest underserved broadband markets – is, for now, also out of reach. Is Starlink a spy gadget ?
