New Delhi — Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said Eutelsat OneWeb should receive regulatory approval to launch satellite broadband services in India before Elon Musk’s Starlink, arguing that OneWeb began the approval process nearly five years earlier.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026, Mittal said OneWeb has already invested in the infrastructure needed to begin operations but continues to await regulatory clearance.
“As I have already said, we are awaiting our approvals. I believe we are significantly ahead of him in the queue because we applied five years ago,” Mittal said.
He noted that OneWeb’s ground network infrastructure has been ready for three years, while its satellites have been positioned to serve India for approximately five years.
“Our ground networks have been ready for the past three years, and our satellites have been hovering over India for the past five years. We still do not have the necessary permission, so we would be very happy to receive it, even a few days before him,” he added.
Mittal’s comments come amid growing tensions over regulatory approvals for satellite internet services in India, where OneWeb and Starlink are preparing to compete in the emerging broadband market.
Over the past week, Musk has alleged on his social media platform X that certain Indian businesses are attempting to obstruct Starlink’s entry into the country.
The Indian government has rejected those allegations, maintaining that all satellite communications providers are being evaluated under the same regulatory framework.
India’s Ministry of Communications said the companies seeking approval are at broadly similar stages of the regulatory process and denied that any operator is receiving preferential treatment.
“At present, all the three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage. As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the ministry said.
Eutelsat OneWeb India, officially registered as OneWeb India Communications Private Limited, plans to provide broadband connectivity through a network of low Earth orbit satellites.
The company operates under Eutelsat Group, which was created through the merger of France-based satellite operator Eutelsat and the United Kingdom-backed OneWeb.
Bharti Enterprises is a major shareholder in Eutelsat Group, giving Mittal’s company a significant interest in OneWeb’s expansion into India’s satellite communications market.
The dispute highlights growing competition among satellite broadband providers seeking access to India, where operators are positioning themselves to serve areas with limited terrestrial internet connectivity.
Despite OneWeb’s earlier application and completed infrastructure preparations, the company has yet to secure all the regulatory permissions required to begin commercial services. (Source: IANS)
