New Delhi, Nov. 9 -- On the 7th October, a SpaceX executive announced at the India Mobile Congress that Starlink had constructed 20 gateway sites in India. A few hours later, Elon Musk stated that "certain oligarchs" were preventing his service from being available. Both of these comments regard India's long-delayed decision as a commercial matter.

Although Starlink has a communications licence and has received clearance from the space regulator, it still does not have spectrum and the final security clearance from the Home Ministry. That hesitation is the right course of action and ought to be adopted as policy. The real issue is whether a foreign, privately owned constellation, linked to another country's military and intelligence stru...