Airtel Preparing to Launch Satellite Telecom Services, Awaiting Permission from Government, Reliance Jio, Elon Musk

Bharti Enterprises, one of the big telecom companies, has said that it is ready to start satellite telecom service. The approval of the Central Government is awaited for this service. Billionaire Elon Musk’s company Starlink has also sought permission from the government to launch satellite internet service.

Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said, “We are waiting for spectrum allocation. Our two stations in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are ready. We will launch the service once we get the permission.” He said that Bharti Enterprises has launched 635 satellites and the company is providing services in other countries. Asked about the controversy over the spectrum allocation over the past few months over the administrative process or auction, Mittal reiterated Bharti Airtel’s stand. He said that satellite companies should pay license fees and acquire spectrum through auction.

“We are all saying that there should be a level playing field. This is better for areas where terrestrial networks cannot reach. We are waiting for suggestions from the government,” Mittal said. The country’s largest telecom company Reliance Jio has also favored paying license fees for satellite spectrum and purchasing spectrum for telecom services.

Recently, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said that allocation of satellite spectrum will provide more options to consumers. He had refuted Reliance Jio’s apprehension that Starlink would benefit from this. For the past few months, Starlink was in dispute with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio regarding the process of allocating spectrum for satellite internet service. Reliance Jio had demanded an auction for satellite spectrum. However, the government has decided to allocate this spectrum as per the international trend. Analysts say that auctioning this spectrum will require more investment and this may cause international telecom companies to step back. A unit of e-commerce and technology company Amazon has also sought approval for satellite internet service in the country.