Mittal Says Bharti Leads Starlink in India Approval Queue

Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said his company is ahead of Starlink in India’s satellite-service approval queue, but Bharti’s venture has yet to receive permission to begin operations. He said he expects approval to come before Starlink’s, while the comparative queue position remains his assertion rather than an independently established fact. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on October 14, Mittal said Bharti had applied for satellite-service approvals five years ago. He said the company’s ground network had been ready for three years and its satellites had been positioned over India for five years. Mittal described Bharti as “significantly ahead” of Starlink and said he would welcome permission even a few days before the competing service. The venture involves Bharti Airtel and Eutelsat OneWeb. Despite the preparations Mittal described, Bharti is still awaiting government permission. The reports do not provide application or clearance records that would independently verify the two companies’ relative positions in the approval process.