Starlink India Launch: Airtel's Sunil Mittal Responds To Elon Musk As Ambani-Jio Row Escalates
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The race to launch satellite internet in India intensified on October 14 as Sunil Bharti Mittal said Eutelsat OneWeb was ahead of Elon Musk's Starlink in the approval queue. His comments come amid Musk's attacks over delays to Starlink's India entry and his criticism of Mukesh Ambani.
The battle over India's satellite internet market intensified on Wednesday, October 14, with Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal saying Eutelsat OneWeb is significantly ahead of Elon Musk's Starlink in the approval queue, adding a fresh twist to the escalating row over who gets to launch satellite broadband services in the country first.
Mittal said OneWeb had applied for approvals around five years ago, its ground network had been ready for about three years, and its satellites had been positioned to serve India for years. Despite that, the company is still awaiting the final go-ahead to begin commercial services. Mittal said he would be happy if OneWeb received approval even a few days before Musk's Starlink.
The comments come after Musk stepped up criticism over delays to the Starlink India launch, alleging that business interests were trying to protect their hold over India's telecom market. The SpaceX chief subsequently targeted Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, as the fight over India's potentially large satellite broadband market spilled into public view.
The Indian government has rejected allegations that Starlink is being treated unfairly, maintaining that the licensed satellite operators are going through the regulatory and security-clearance process.
Sunil Mittal Says OneWeb Is Ahead Of Starlink In India
Mittal's latest comments put Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb directly into the Starlink controversy at a time when all eyes are on when satellite internet services will finally become commercially available in India.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mittal said OneWeb had entered the regulatory process much earlier than Starlink.
He said the company had applied around five years ago and argued that this put it significantly ahead in the queue. OneWeb's ground infrastructure has also been ready for around three years, according to Mittal, but the company is yet to receive the remaining approvals required to begin services.
The remarks are significant because Starlink is not the only company waiting to launch satellite broadband in India.
OneWeb India Communications, Jio Satellite Communications and Starlink Satellite Communications have received unified licences with authorisation for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite services.
However, the companies still need to complete the remaining security and regulatory requirements before commercial satellite broadband services can begin.
The government has maintained that the operators are broadly at the same regulatory stage and has rejected suggestions that its framework is being implemented in a discriminatory manner.
Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani And The Starlink India Row
The latest intervention from Mittal comes after Musk publicly questioned why Starlink was still unable to begin services in India.
Musk alleged that certain business interests were obstructing Starlink's entry to preserve their dominance over the Indian telecom market. The billionaire later turned his attention directly towards Mukesh Ambani as the dispute intensified.
The government pushed back against those allegations, saying the approval framework applies uniformly to satellite communication companies and that security requirements have to be fulfilled before services can begin.
The controversy has brought India's three major satellite broadband contenders into sharper focus — Elon Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite communications venture and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.
All three already have satellite communication licences, but commercial operations remain dependent on the remaining clearances and spectrum allocation.
The stakes are significant. Satellite broadband is expected to play a role in extending internet connectivity to areas where terrestrial networks such as fibre and mobile towers are difficult to deploy, including remote, mountainous, coastal and underserved regions.
That has turned the question of when Starlink will launch in India into a broader race involving some of the country's biggest telecom players.
Mittal's October 14 comments now add another dimension to that race. While Musk has questioned the delay facing Starlink, OneWeb's position is that it has itself been waiting for years despite having its infrastructure ready.
For now, Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications and Eutelsat OneWeb remain in the race to launch satellite internet services in India, with the timing of final clearances likely to determine which company gets the first-mover advantage as commercial services begin.
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This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice from Kotak Neo. For compliance T&C and disclaimers, Visit www.kotakneo.com/disclaimer
Rochelle Britto has spent 8+ years decoding India's markets, businesses, and consumer economy, reporting for ET Prime and Times Internet along the way, covering the stories behind the numbers.
A Mumbai native and perpetual planner of the next holiday, she stays far, far away from the eternal question, “Where are we going next?” When she's not chasing headlines, she's chasing new cultures, open roads, and a bit of quiet in nature.
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