Is Elon Musk's Starlink a wolf in sheep's clothing?

Amid talk of Elon Musk's Starlink seeking to offer satellite broadband internet service in India, think tank Kutniti Foundation has highlighted the US giant's deep ties with US intelligence and military agencies that could impede national interests.

Calling Starlink "a wolf in sheep's clothing", the foundation said Starlink is a dual-use technology with "its biggest customer and promoter being the American government intelligence and military."

While legacy mobile phone service providers use telecom towers for offering voice and internet services, satellite communication or satcom involves using a constellation of satellites for offering the same. However, there are concerns that the control of those satellites lies outside the country.

"Starlink constellation of satellites is a new form of internet service providers across the world, unbound by geographic demarcations and natural boundaries. A direct access to every citizen in the world, with no governance structure in between the user and the American one," Kutniti said in a report.

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had stated that Starlink was yet to comply with security norms, and a licence for satellite broadband services will be issued only after they meet all the requirements for services in India.

An email sent to Starlink seeking comments on Kutniti report remained unanswered.

Musk, whose space company SpaceX is said to be building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a US intelligence agency, had clashed with the Biden administration over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war.

The billionaire, who had openly supported Donald Trump over Biden's party colleague Kamala Harris in the just concluded US presidential election, had last year stated that he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network to aid an attack on the Russian fleet.

Kutniti cited reports of some of the contracts between Musk's companies and the US agencies to say, "These are just the known contracts of Starlink as part of the intel-military-industrial complex of the USA, there are a lot of confidential agreements and contracts kept behind covers."

"In addition, it is well known that the owner of Starlink, Elon Musk, is close to various private intelligence companies, and is a highly politically exposed person in the USA including but not limited to Palantir Technologies USA, and the Trump Election 2024," it said.

Starlink's dual-use technology provides low-cost global coverage high-speed internet service and also has potential to provide high-definition pictures and even live video.

The report cited Musk-led companies "disregard for sovereignty and democracy of other nations" such as in Brazil, Ukraine and Iran.

"Starlink is (very candidly) a technology of geopolitical control, pushed by intelligence and defence forces to have the dominance in space and control over land via that lever," it added.

Listing out US laws, New Delhi-based Kutniti in a report said the US government and its agencies, whether government or private, have "a duty as a good patriot to make sure to run such programmes that deepen American economic and military interest".

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