India's Ministry of Home Affairs has frozen the final approvals Starlink needs to launch commercial operations in the country, after SpaceX allowed Starlink terminals to operate inside Iran without a licence. The move raises a core governance question: can any government control a satellite network that SpaceX can unilaterally activate anywhere? The timing is particularly sensitive as SpaceX's IPO — targeting $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation — is imminent. India represents one of Starlink's largest remaining growth markets, and the delay undermines the global-access narrative SpaceX is pitching to public investors. The episode fits a broader pattern: Ukraine was cut off in 2022, Taiwan talks have stalled, and European regulators are reserving spectrum for domestic operators, all citing concerns about a network controlled by a single politically connected individual.
