consultantsreview logo

Consultants Review Magazine

Sunil Mittal: OneWeb, Backed By Airtel, Will Face Tough Competition From Starlink

By Consultants Review Team Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said that Elon Musk's Starlink will provide "formidable competition" to Bharti Airtel-backed OneWeb in India and around the world. Mittal also disclosed that OneWeb is prepared to begin offering satellite-based broadband services in the nation and is merely awaiting final government approval.

It is important to remember that Starlink is a strong competitor. However, there's room for everyone in the market. We are not at all in the business-to-consumer (B2C) space; instead, our main concentration is on B2B (business-to-business). The industrialist spoke on the project run by Elon Musk's SpaceX, saying, "We focus on use cases like military, navy, army, oil and gas, enterprise, warehousing, industrial application, and cellular backhaul."

He mentioned on OneWeb that the project's FDI (foreign direct investment) has been approved and that "that process will roll forward."

"The satellite portal network location is currently operational and located in Mehsana, Gujarat. We've conducted some tests, and everything works well. The government should begin allocating spectrum now that "everything is ready," Mittal continued. "Now, the spectrum assignment has to be done."

However, Starlink is having trouble getting the license from the Indian government. One of the demands made by the government is for the latter to completely reveal SpaceX's ownership data. Starlink claims that it is unable to comply with this demand because US privacy laws forbid it.

Current Issue


🍪 Do you like Cookies?

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...