Sunil Bharti Mittal says Bharti is ahead of Starlink in India’s satellite approval queue. The founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises said his group was ready to launch satellite connectivity. However, it still awaits security clearances before it can start services in India.
Sunil Mittal spoke at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. He was responding to questions about Elon Musk’s remarks targeting India’s telecom billionaires. Those remarks concerned Starlink’s plans to enter the Indian market.
Musk said his satellite internet service had been “” from entering the Indian market. He said that India’s telecom billionaires were protecting the “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”.
Mittal said Bharti had applied for the required approvals five years ago. Its ground network had been ready for three years, he added.
He also said the company’s satellites had been positioned over India for five years. Bharti was ahead in the approval queue compared with Starlink, according to Mittal.
According to Reuters, Elon Musk’s Starlink was waiting for a commercial licence from 2022. In June 2025, the company got approval from India’s telecom ministry to launch.
The following month, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) granted the company a five-year commercial operations licence.
Sunil Mittal described India’s preparations for satellite connectivity as being at an advanced stage. Once approvals are in place, Bharti could extend its services across the country.
This would include places that conventional networks struggle to reach. Mittal highlighted Bharti’s satellite services in Africa, launched alongside a global partner.
He called for low taxes on digital goods and telecom services. Lower taxes would help digital technology support economic growth, he said. Mittal stressed that digital infrastructure plays an important role in strengthening the economy.
Sunil Mittal on regulating AI
also called for early action on artificial intelligence rules. AI was developing faster than governments could prepare regulations, according to Mittal. India was preparing a consultation paper on rules or safeguards for its use.
Mittal highlighted concerns that AI agents could act beyond their intended controls. Such warnings should be taken seriously by governments, he said. People were already using AI as agents became more widespread.
“Every day, the news flow starts to come in from the very founders of the technology, saying, ‘We now have a fear that our agents may run rogue’. That’s not something that we can take lightly, or a country can take lightly,” he said.
“Are we going to wake up only when an accident happens, or do we do it before?” he questioned.
He urged policymakers to start thinking about regulations. Rules should protect countries without unnecessarily stifling innovation or growth.
Dependence on China
In a separate comment, he said that reducing dependence on would be difficult. Many industries rely on Chinese raw materials and components.
“Everybody is very happy that China produces high quality at low cost,” he said.
He illustrated this with a $100 billion trade deficit with China. Cutting that gap to $50 billion would be difficult because Chinese supplies support several sectors.