The Indian government got cold feet on Starlink just before SpaceX’s IPO

印度政府在 SpaceX IPO 前夕对 Starlink 产生顾虑

SpaceX’s plans to add millions of new subscribers to its satellite internet network could founder over the Indian government’s fears that the company will not obey its laws. SpaceX obtained a license to begin operating in India in 2025, after years of lobbying officials in New Delhi. While progress has been made toward a roll-out of the service there, Bloomberg now reports that Indian officials have paused the effort after SpaceX allowed Starlink access inside Iran despite not having legal permission to operate there.

SpaceX 计划为其卫星互联网网络增加数百万新用户，但这一计划可能会因印度政府担心该公司不遵守当地法律而受阻。在经过多年对新德里官员的游说后，SpaceX 于 2025 年获得了在印度开展业务的许可。尽管该服务的推广工作已取得进展，但据彭博社报道，在 SpaceX 未经法律许可允许 Starlink 在伊朗境内接入服务后，印度官员已暂停了相关工作。

“Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources,” SpaceX VP of Starlink operations Lauren Dreyer said in a social media post. Bloomberg did not report that discussions had stopped.

SpaceX Starlink 运营副总裁 Lauren Dreyer 在社交媒体上发文称：“与基于匿名消息来源的未经证实的主张所产生的误导性报道相反，Starlink 仍在与印度政府进行积极且富有成效的讨论。”彭博社并未报道称讨论已经停止。

Delays in offering the service in India could present a hiccup ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, where financial disclosures showed that Starlink’s customer growth is slowing. The value of SpaceX’s Starlink network depends on the number of countries where it can offer service; there’s a set cost for building out the global infrastructure, and returns depend on how many subscribers take up the service.

在印度提供服务的延迟可能会在 SpaceX 进行 IPO 前带来波折，此前财务披露显示 Starlink 的用户增长正在放缓。SpaceX Starlink 网络的价值取决于其能够提供服务的国家数量；构建全球基础设施存在固定成本，而回报则取决于有多少用户使用该服务。

Market access is obtained on a country by country basis, with many governments seeking to protect domestic telecoms companies through joint ventures, or to establish direct control over who can access the service and how. India has set requirements on local data storage and for network security that SpaceX has worked to meet. However, anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the government is concerned that it could not actually exercise control over Starlink, following the unauthorized use in Iran.

市场准入是逐个国家获得的，许多政府试图通过合资企业来保护国内电信公司，或者建立对谁可以访问服务以及如何访问的直接控制权。印度对本地数据存储和网络安全提出了要求，SpaceX 一直在努力满足这些要求。然而，匿名消息人士告诉彭博社，继伊朗未经授权使用事件后，印度政府担心其无法真正对 Starlink 行使控制权。

SpaceX’s control over the network has been an issue before. Ukrainian forces using Starlink to fight a Russian invasion complained after being cut off from the service in 2022, when Musk became concerned about their progress. Starlink’s talks with the government of Taiwan haven’t progressed due to Musk’s past claims that the country is part of China, and the company’s apparent refusal to work with local partners there.

SpaceX 对网络的控制权此前也曾引发问题。乌克兰军队在 2022 年使用 Starlink 对抗俄罗斯入侵时，因马斯克对其进展感到担忧而导致服务被切断，乌方对此表示不满。Starlink 与台湾当局的谈判也未取得进展，原因在于马斯克过去曾声称台湾是中国的一部分，且该公司似乎拒绝与当地合作伙伴进行合作。