India must ensure level-playing field between telecom and satcom; Vi not completely out of woods: Rajan Mittal

Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises

Bharti Enterprises vice chairman Rajan Bharti Mittal has called for fair competition in India’s satellite broadband market as Elon Musk’s Starlink seeks approvals from the department of telecommunication to start services in the country.

He also noted that Vodafone Idea is still not out of woods but is important for a 3+1 telco market structure.

Mittal emphasised the need for a "level playing field" in the rapidly evolving telecom landscape, urging that all players abide by the same rules of engagement.

“We believe competition is more than welcome as long as there’s a level playing field. That’s all the industry seeks,” Mittal told Moneycontrol during an interview at World Economic Forum 2025 at Davos.

He added that satellite broadband services like Starlink should primarily cater to unconnected regions such as remote areas, maritime, and defense sectors, while urban markets must ensure compliance with established regulations.

“If they were to come and give [services in urban areas], they must be following the rules and the level playing field,” Mittal asserted. “Wherever there are unserved areas, some other arrangements can be worked out; that’d be fine too.”

Turning to the broader telecom industry, Mittal acknowledged the ongoing challenges faced by Vodafone, one of India’s major private telecom operators alongside Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. “Vodafone is not out of the woods. They have raised some money and should be back on track. They’ve already made some announcements,” Mittal said.

He noted that BSNL, backed by increased investments, could emerge as a stronger competitor in the future. “We are seeing that BSNL is receiving more investments. For a country the size of India, having three private players and BSNL ensures healthy competition,” he said.

Discussing Bharti’s satellite broadband ambitions, Mittal revealed that the company is prepared to launch services under its Eutelsat OneWeb joint venture. “We are ready. We have our base stations in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. We are waiting for spectrum allocation,” he shared. Mittal also highlighted successful pilot tests and reiterated the company’s readiness to roll out services as soon as approvals are secured.

On Bharti’s future direction, Mittal stated that while the company is primarily telecom-led, it continues to maintain a diverse portfolio. “We have an insurance business that is going on, and we have real estate as well. The businesses we decided to merge or shed were not core to our portfolio,” he explained.

Addressing Bharti’s investment approach towards startups, Mittal mentioned their accelerator program under Airtel and family office investments in sectors like real estate, insurance, and hospitality. “We are already investing in startups through Airtel. From the family office, we are doing investments in other areas like real estate, insurance, and hospitality,” he elaborated.