Sunil Bharti Mittal Claims Lead Over Elon Musk in India
Sunil Bharti Mittal claims he is ahead of Elon Musk in the queue for Indian satellite broadband approvals amid Musk's accusations of market monopolies.
Founder of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal claimed at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum that he is significantly ahead of Elon Musk in the process of securing satellite broadband approvals in India. Mittal, an investor in Eutelsat OneWeb, stated that his satellites have been hovering over the country for five years and his ground network has been ready for three years.
Elon Musk has publicly pressured the Indian government and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani to allow Starlink to enter the market. Musk argued that satellite connectivity would improve education and save lives during disasters, while mockingly referring to Ambani as the "real boss of India" and alleging a monopolistic hold over the internet sector.
Communication Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia responded by clarifying that Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications, and Eutelsat OneWeb have all secured satcom licenses. He noted that all three companies are currently undergoing identical security assessments. The Indian government intends to assign spectrum on a revenue-sharing basis once the regulatory framework is finalized.
