Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Wednesday said his satellite communications venture, Eutelsat OneWeb, is significantly ahead of Elon Musk’s Starlink in the queue for regulatory approvals in India, asserting that the company has been waiting for permission to launch services despite having its ground infrastructure in place for years.
“I think I am significantly ahead in the queue from him (Elon Musk). I applied five years back,” Mittal said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026. Responding to a question about the competition with Musk’s Starlink, he added that OneWeb’s ground network had been ready for three years and its satellites had been hovering over India for five years.
“We don't have the permission, so we'll be very happy to get it at least a few days before him,” Mittal said.
His remarks come amid a public spat between Musk and Indian telecom industry leaders over the regulatory framework for satellite internet services and the terms of market access for foreign players.
Musk accuses Indian telecom players of blocking Starlink
Musk recently alleged on X that Starlink was being blocked by certain oligarchs seeking to maintain a “monopolistic chokehold” on Indian consumers. The Ministry of Communications pushed back against the allegation the following day, describing suggestions that India’s regulatory framework or its implementation was unfair or discriminatory as “baseless and misconceived”.
Musk subsequently questioned whether Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani was “the real boss of India”, escalating the public exchange over the entry of satellite-based internet services into the country.
The dispute has brought renewed attention to the regulatory conditions governing satcom operators, including spectrum allocation, pricing and security clearances.
Government says three players have secured licences
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia last week said India does not permit monopolies in any sector and that the government remains technology-agnostic while allowing consumers to choose their preferred service provider.
“Let me set the record straight. For us, the Department of Telecommunications, we are technology agnostic... Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer. It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers, and within that service bouquet, which company's service he or she prefers,” Scindia said during a briefing at the India Mobile Congress.
The minister said three entities—Musk’s Starlink, Reliance Jio’s satellite venture Jio Satcom, and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb—had secured licences to provide satellite communication services in India. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has also expressed interest but will have to follow the prescribed regulatory process.
Scindia said spectrum would be assigned once the government finalises the revenue-based pricing framework and individual operators meet the required security conditions.
“We are very clear on our stand. There are three parties that have got a licence; as and when the government decides the charge system on the revenue basis, that spectrum will be assigned to them, and as and when they individually fulfil the security conditions, they can start operations,” he said.
Satcom spectrum pricing decision awaited
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications are nearing a final decision on the pricing framework for satellite spectrum, Scindia said.
The framework will be a key step in determining when licensed operators can begin commercial services. While licences have been issued, operators must still comply with the applicable spectrum allocation and security requirements before launching operations.
For OneWeb, Mittal’s comments underline the company’s push to secure regulatory clearance after years of preparation. Starlink’s proposed entry, meanwhile, has intensified competition in India’s emerging satellite internet market, where regulatory decisions will shape the terms on which domestic and international players compete.