ISRO's OneWeb order can open up billions of inbound dollars in space: Sunil Mittal

File image of Bharti Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bharti Mittal (Image: Reuters)

The order taken by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the commercial launch of OneWeb satellites "could open up billions of inbound dollars in space", Bharti Enterprises CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal told CNBC-TV18 on October 22.

Mittal's comments came hours before ISRO's commercial launch of 36 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, that was scheduled from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh at seven minutes past midnight on October 23.

Mittal, whose Bharti Enterprises is one of the biggest investors in OneWeb, said two commercial launches have been confirmed with ISRO, "with a cost outlay of Rs 1,000 crore".

OneWeb, formally known as Network Access Associates Ltd, is a UK-based LEO communications company. Its tie-up with ISRO for the commercial launch assumes significance, as it can be used to enable satellite-based internet in remote and rural parts of India.

Currently, satellite-based internet connection in India is available only in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.

Also Read | Details of ISRO's maiden commercial launch of 36 broadband satellites

Mittal told CNBC TV-18 that the total investment in OneWeb so far is $5.6 billion, and the company's capacity is 1.1 TBPS. The pricing for the internet that it will provide "will be at par with 4G services for retail", he added.

Mittal, however, noted that their "focus is B2B", whereas, rival Starlink, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, "has a bias in favour of B2C".

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine military conflict has also adversely affected satellite-based communication companies, as Moscow is one of the major providers of commercial space launches.

The biggest setback has been the delay in launches from Russia, Mittal said, further claiming that a "loss of $350 million" has been incurred as it had been paid to the Russian space agency for the planned launches.