Vittal is currently MD and vice chair, the latter responsibility he assumed in October 2024 when the company announced what it described as a structured succession process.

He was previously MD and CEO, leading the company’s operations in India for more than a decade.

In its statement confirming final details of the upcoming change, the company explained Vittal would now oversee Bharti Airtel and its subsidiaries, while also being “responsible for driving group synergies in the areas of digital and technology, network strategy, procurement and talent”.

The executive is also charged with group strategy and “futureproofing the organisation for the next evolution of its development”.

Sharma is to become CEO and MD of Bharti Airtel India after spending more than a year as CEO designate, working alongside Vittal to prepare for the handover.    

Another upcoming change at the company involves the CFO of its India operation, Soumen Ray, moving to lead the financial office at group level.

Ray’s old job will be taken by financial controller Akhil Garg.

The post Airtel board rubber stamps leadership changes appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In an X post, Starlink wrote the deal would connect more than 170 million people in Africa, marking the sixth continent for the satellite-to-mobile service and expanding its mission to cover dead zones.

The satellite operator added the service would begin by delivering data that enables voice, video and messaging, and advance to providing high-speed broadband service.

Airtel Africa group CTO Atul Sachdeva stated in a LinkedIn post the service would begin in 2026 with data for select applications and text messaging, noting the rollout would proceed in line with country-specific regulatory approvals.

Sachdeva said Airtel Africa is the first mobile operator on the continent to offer Starlink direct-to-mobile service, using 650 satellites.

Airtel Africa forged a deal with SpaceX to launch Starlink’s satellite-based broadband services across its footprint in May, following up on an agreement with the operator’s parent company in India.

The post Airtel Africa, Starlink add sat-to-phone service appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator, the second-largest in India by subscribers, previously declined to introduce RCS due to concerns over spam.

The newspaper wrote Google recently agreed to integrate RCS with Airtel’s AI-enabled spam filter.

A source told ET the country’s operators now need to work out interoperability, which could result in an interconnect usage charge.

In August, Apple sealed its first RCS deal in India, working with Reliance Jio to enable the messaging on iPhones.

The GSMA, Google and a number of operators created an initiative covering implementation of RCS on Android devices in 2016.

Compared with SMS or MMS, the GSMA claims RCS enables better features across payments, chatbots, location sharing, high-resolution images and videos, and group chats.

The post Airtel prepares to launch RCS with Google appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator claimed a net gain of SGD1.1 billion from the sale.

Singtel CFO Arthur Lang noted it has been working with Bharti Enterprises to gradually equalise its stake in Airtel over time.

Lang added the total capital generated is about half of the operator’s new mid-term target of SGD9 billion. “This gives us the financial flexibility to strengthen our balance sheet” and fund growth opportunities in digital infrastructure and digital services.

The sale reduces Singtel’s interest in Airtel to 27.5 per cent, valued at an estimated SGD51 billion.

In August, Singtel sold about 1.2 per cent of its stake in Airtel for SGD2 billion.

Singtel is the largest mobile player in the city state with 4.6 million connections at end-September, data from GSMA Intelligence showed. Airtel is the second-largest operator in India with 364 million mobile connections.

The post Singtel generates $1.2B from Airtel stake sale appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Airtel vice chair and MD Gopal Vittal stated in its fiscal Q2 earnings call the company welcomes the fact that the Supreme Court’s order allows the government to “undertake a comprehensive assessment, reassessment and reconciliation” of AGR dues, including interest and penalties up to the financial year 2016-17.

“We are now planning to take up a matter with the government,” he said, highlighting it’s always maintained “the AGR judgment of 2019 was a body blow to the industry. The fact that even errors of calculation were not entertained was even more disappointing.”

The high count expanded a previous order and advised the government to establish a special package for the debt-laden company covering its entire outstanding AGR dues totalling more than INR834 billion ($9.4 billion), The Economic Times reported.

The earlier order restricted the review to the additional demand of INR94.5 billion by the Department of Telecommunications dating back to fiscal 2019.

The newspaper noted the ruling is expected to help Vodafone Idea line up new capital and support a potential investment from private equity company Tillman Global Holdings to take operational control of the operator.

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In the three month period ending 30 September, net profit jumped 49 per cent year-on-year to INR86.5 billion ($774.3 million), with consolidated revenue growing 16 per cent to INR521.5 billion.

Vice chair and MD Gopal Vittal stated in a release: “We delivered another quarter of solid performance,” with Africa again registering standout results. He added the post-paid segment in India recorded one of the highest quarterly net additions of about 1 million.

Mobile revenue in India improved 13 per cent to INR281.2 billion, aided by a 10 per cent increase in ARPU to INR256 at end-September.

Its mobile subscriber base rose 3.6 per cent to 351.6 million. Average monthly data consumption increased 18.4 per cent to 28.3GB.

The operator added nearly 75,600 base stations from a year ago to end September with 1.15 million.

In Africa, mobile revenue improved 24 per cent to $1.5 billion, with ARPU rising 11.3 per cent to $2.50.

Mobile subs increased 11 per cent to 173.8 million. Data usage per customer was up 21.1 per cent to 8.6GB per month.

Airtel Money revenue climbed 30 per cent to $312 million, with ARPU rising 10.6 per cent to $2.20.

Revenue from home services surged 30 per cent to INR18.6 billion; Airtel Business sales fell 7 per cent to INR52.8 billion. Sales from passive infrastructure services in India were up 10 per cent to INR81.9 billion.

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During the event’s opening keynote, Mupita told GSMA director general Vivek Badrinath (pictured, left) that while coverage has improved across much of the continent, usage and investment remain constrained by legacy rules and rising costs. “I think that some of the regulatory frameworks that we have across our continent were designed for the voice era,” he stated. “In the voice era, networks were built in a very capital-light approach. You couldn’t really fill up voice networks, so to speak, but you do fill up data networks very easily.”

He urged policymakers to start “with a clean set of paper” and design frameworks for digital societies rather than legacy systems. “We need a very clear roadmap towards digital Africa, the digital societies we want, and then build regulation and frameworks from there.”

Mupita added that high spectrum costs and heavy taxation continue to undermine investment, urging policymakers to rethink pricing and competition models. “Mobile network operators do not meet the cost of capital for the infrastructure that’s provided,” he said, calling for “price floors in markets so that we support and protect investments”.

Level playing field
In the keynote, Orange Middle East and Africa CEO Yasser Shaker echoed these calls for smarter regulation, stressing the need for balanced competition and sustained innovation.

“We have to ensure that we have the same playing field that all players,” he said. “I don’t think we’re only competing against operators,” he noted, adding that today, telcos also compete against fintechs, OTTs and satellites players.

Shaker explained that “clarity is very important for investment,” arguing that fair rules and consistent policy would help operators continue investing in innovation. “We just need to have the same playing field for everyone.”

Three Africas
Also on stage, Airtel Africa Group CEO Sunil Taldar noted that the continent’s digital markets are developing at different speeds, highlighting distinct challenges across regions that he described as “three Africas”. The “core Africa” of major cities such as Lagos and Nairobi where digital engagement rivals global peers and anchors the continent’s growth, the “emerging Africa” of tier-two cities shifting from voice to data, and “rural Africa,” which Taldar hailed as “the single biggest opportunity.”

“In my view, the real strength of Africa lies not only in its demand or demographics, but in its mindset,” Taldar said, hailing innovation across the continent. He called for the industry to “redefine cost economies to further connectivity and leverage AI to build greener and reliable networks.”

“Africa’s telecom story is not about catching up,” he stated. “It’s about leapfrogging… from access to productivity”.

The post MTN boss urges Africa to move on from voice era regulation appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a test conducted in sub-Saharan Africa supported by Eutelsat OneWeb’s low-earth orbit (LEO) network, the operator maintained stable high-speed connectivity as the vehicle travelled through remote and forested areas underserved by traditional network coverage.

Download speeds hit 100 Mb/s while uplink reached 20Mb/s, meeting performance targets.

The operator group highlighted the connection was sustained through almost the entire journey between key urban centres, with minimal interruptions and low latency.

It added satellite-powered internet enables real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and improved emergency response. The connectivity boost also paves the way for fresh customer-facing services such as onboard Wi-Fi, streaming, e-ticketing and live travel updates.

Luc Serviant, group enterprise director at Airtel Africa, hailed the trial as a “historic breakthrough” demonstrating the potential for LEO satellite technology to bridge connectivity gaps in critical infrastructure and boost industries including transport, mining and energy.

The pilot, part of Airtel’s Satellite for Business initiative, kicks-off a wider rollout across Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Madagascar and Gabon, targeting hard-to-reach areas.

The post Airtel, Eutelsat bring satellite internet to African railway appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The Airtel-Skylark service offers centimetre-level positioning accuracy for mission-critical, location-based applications for large-scale deployment, the operator stated.

The initial phase of the exclusive partnership will cover about 35,000 km2 network around the National Capital Region later this year, with the network to be rolled out to other parts of the country in phases.

Airtel Business director and CEO Sharat Sinha argued the breakthrough technology will not only “revolutionise emergency responses and set new benchmarks for industrial applications”, but also will fast-track innovations in use-cases such as autonomous mobility and satellite-based toll collections.

Holger Ippach, EVP of product and marketing at Swift Navigation, added by using Airtel’s presence across IoT devices and services, “we are enabling businesses and developers across the country to seamlessly adopt precise positioning for automation and autonomy”.

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Mittal is founder and chair of Bharti Enterprises, while Vittal is vice chair and MD of Bharti Airtel, as well as being chair of the GSMA, among other roles.

In a statement, BT revealed the companies also signed a business relationship agreement connected with Bharti Global’s shareholding.

Under the terms of the share deal, Bharti Global is able to nominate two people to BT’s board as long as it or its affiliates own more than a 20 per cent stake.

If it falls to between 10 per cent and 20 per cent, Bharti’s right reduces to one director.

Bharti Global inked a deal to buy a 24.5 per cent stake in BT from Altice in 2024.

BT chair Adam Crozier said the board additions bring “significant experience and global perspectives in the telecoms industry”.

Vittal noted BT has “unique assets” and offers “valuable opportunities for growth”, adding “Airtel and BT have much to learn from and contribute to each other”.

The post Bharti executives Mittal, Vittal join BT board appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Vodacom and Airtel explained the strategic infrastructure sharing agreement would accelerate the rollout of digital services in key African markets while cutting their infrastructure costs.

The pair indicated the plan would be especially useful in efforts to deliver services to users in currently underserved areas, helping bridge the digital divide.

Countries set to be covered include Mozambique, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Sharing in each nation is subject to gaining required regulatory approvals.

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said the move was a “proactive step forward in creating a sustainable, inclusive, and connected digital future for the continent”.

“Through infrastructure sharing, we can provide cost-effective services to more people, more rapidly, ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age,” he added. “As we fulfil our ambition to connect 260 million customers by 2030, the need for scalable and cost-efficient network solutions becomes increasingly significant”.

Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar noted the pact was aligned with aims to make its network available in the remotest of locations and would “open greater access to digital and financial opportunities which will transform the lives of our customers while complying with all regulatory requirements”.

“Even as competitors, it has become a business imperative for us to collaborate in the provision of critical infrastructure required to build resilient network with strong capacity to support the emerging digital technologies as well as the growing need for data-enabled products and services,” the executive added, noting the requirement of fibre to support 4G and 5G.

Both companies are no strangers to network sharing deals to expand their footprints within their markets. Earlier this year, Airtel Africa inked a deal with MTN to team up in Uganda and Nigeria, while Vodacom and Orange unveiled a JV in the DRC targeted at rural connectivity in January.

The post Vodacom, Airtel Africa ink multi-market pact appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Net profit in fiscal Q1 (ending 30 June) jumped 40 per cent year-on-year to INR59.5 billion ($678.4 million), while revenue grew 18.4 per cent to INR494.6 billion.

Vice chair and MD Gopal Vittal noted in its earnings statement: “Our balance sheet continues to demonstrate strength, supported by solid cash flow generation and disciplined capital allocation.”

Vittal said it added around 4 million smartphone data customers in India and saw ARPU increase nearly 19 per cent to INR250, while Africa reported a solid performance with 6.7 per cent growth in constant currency terms.

He added business segment revenue declined due to the impact of a portfolio restructuring last year.

In India, mobile revenue grew 22 per cent to INR273.9 billion, with its customer base rising 2.3 per cent to 354.5 million. Average monthly data usage increased 13.4 per cent to 26.9GB.

It added more than 52,000 base stations to take its total to nearly 1 million at end-June.

Airtel Business sales fell 8 per cent to INR50.6 billion; its passive infrastructure business increased 9 per cent to INR80.6 billion.

Mobile revenue in Africa rose 25 per cent to $1.4 billion, with ARPU climbing 13.4 per cent to $2.40.

Mobile subscribers increased 9 per cent to 169.4 million. Airtel Money revenue grew 30.3 per cent to $284 million, supported by an 11.3 per cent hike in ARPU to $2.10.

The post Airtel books double-digit profit, mobile gains appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The platform for operators is described by the company as AI-powered, and intended to help operators improve customer experience and simplify various aspects of their operations.

Philippines-based Globe Telecom plans to use Xtelify’s platform to improve customer services, while Singtel’s deployment includes operations elements such as automated task management and fleet optimisation.

The company stated Airtel Africa would use its products to deliver “market insights for micro-targeted strategies” and access “critical use cases like spam and fraud protection” across its multi-market business.

Cloud move
The other product announced by Xtelify is Airtel Cloud, a sovereign platform for India already used for its parent company’s operations. It is being made available to enterprises and, the company asserts, will aid digital transformation efforts.

Xtelify noted the infrastructure is “hosted on next-gen sustainable data centres, with genAI-based provisioning and managed by 300 certified cloud experts”. It offers infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service cloud computing models.

The parent company’s vice chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said it is “a very pivotal moment in our history as we take our world-class, home-grown platforms of Airtel Cloud and software solutions to businesses in India and telcos all over the world”.

“Within Airtel, we have been actively harnessing digital innovations at unmatched scale to transform our services and enhance customer experience at Airtel for many years now,” he said, noting “all this is enabled by Airtel Cloud, where all our applications run at a very compelling cost”.

The post Airtel inks digital deals with Globe, Singtel appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Ericsson stated it holds 50 per cent of the equity, while operators AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone have as expected taken the remaining stake combined.

Aduna became operational in September 2024, with a goal to create an ecosystem of companies also including hyperscalers, developers and other industry players committed to advancing APIs and establish a set of common interfaces based on the existing industry-wide CAMARA open source project.

It has also stated its work will be in-keeping with the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative.

In addition to funding and commercial agreements, Ericsson stated the 12 operator shareholders will provide support through telecom operator relationships, knowledge of the developer community and expertise in network APIs.

Since its formation, Aduna has expanded its ecosystem, with operators including SoftBank Corp and NTT Docomo and five vendors including Microsoft and Syniverse the latest to join the effort.

Anthony Bartolo, who was named CEO of Aduna in January this year, stated closing the transaction was another important step for Aduna.

“In just ten months we have built an impressive ecosystem comprising the biggest names in telecoms and the wider ICT industry,” he said. “The closing provides renewed motivation for Aduna to accelerate the adoption of network APIs by developers on a global scale.”

The post Ericsson, operators finalise 50:50 API JV appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The new deal increases the total renewable energy supply to India-based Nxtra from Ampin to more than 200MW.

The additional capacity will be delivered in two phases through solar-wind power projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka. Ampin currently supplies solar power to Nxtra in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Nxtra CEO Ashish Arora noted by “powering our digital infrastructure with more than 200MW of renewable energy, we are setting new standards for the industry”.

In June 2024, it pledged to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, joining the global RE100 initiative.

Nxtra operates 12 data centres and 120 edge facilities across India.

The post Airtel data centre arm expands green energy push appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Ericsson stated it is bringing a unique platform to Airtel’s table to provide high capacity FWA in a smaller footprint and with benefits around total cost of ownership.

The set-up relies on an existing 5G core network arrangement between Ericsson and Airtel and is another win for the vendor after securing a multi-year managed services contract with the operator in June.

Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon said Ericsson’s FWA core platform is a “foundational enhancement” and the deployment is “specifically designed to accommodate rapidly increasing customer data requirements”.

Earlier this year, Airtel tasked Nokia with providing other equipment for its FWA service, which debuted in 2023.

The post Ericsson gets to core of Airtel FWA appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The deal is the latest between the pair, with the Swedish company winning a contract in February to supply a 5G core to support the operator’s eventual move to standalone 5G.

Ericsson noted the latest contract would see it deploy “intent-based operations” to manage the operator’s services across India. This covers 4G, both standalone and non-standalone 5G, fixed wireless access, private networks and network slicing.

Bharti Airtel’s CTO noted the operator was in pursuit of a goal to create “a future-ready network” delivering “exceptional” customer experience.

“We believe that these innovative technologies will empower us to meet the growing data demands of consumers in a digitally connected India,” he added.

Ericsson head of market area Southeast Asia, Oceania and India Andres Vicente explained by using its service its customer could “unlock wider service diversification to meet customer needs, thereby enabling new revenue opportunities.”

The post Ericsson bags Bharti Airtel managed services deal appeared first on Mobile World Live.

An Airtel proposal called all operators to create a joint initiative to detect, prevent and mitigate scams through “real-time intelligence sharing and cross-network coordination”, the newspaper noted.

The operator cited figures estimating India received more than 1.7 million cybercrime complaints in the first nine months of 2024, resulting in financial losses topping INR110 billion ($1.3 billion).

In separate letters sent by Airtel to Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, ET wrote with the alarming rise in phishing attempts and malicious URL-based scams targeting unsuspecting individuals, “it became evident that more coordinated industry action was needed.”

“The sophisticated fraud schemes often exploit the gaps in coordination between service providers,” the letters added.

Earlier this month Airtel introduced a free fraud detection system using AI to block malicious websites.

The post Airtel calls for joint effort to combat scams appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The sale, generating a gain of about SGD1.4 billion, reduces Singtel’s stake in India-headquartered Airtel from 29.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, valued at an estimated SGD489 billion.

The transaction by Singtel subsidiary Pastel was executed via a private placement to international and Indian institutional investors, including existing Airtel shareholders.

In 2022 and 2024, the operator raised some SGD3.5 billion from the sale of Airtel shares.

Singtel is Singapore’s largest mobile player with 4.8 million connections at end-March, data from GSMA Intelligence showed. Airtel is the second largest operator in India with 360 million mobile connections.

The post Singtel sells $1.5B interest in Airtel appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The advanced security system conducts domain filtering across all platforms, blocks access to any website flagged as malicious then redirects the user to a page explaining the reason, India operator Airtel stated.

Airtel claimed the service seamlessly integrates with and is auto-enabled for all its mobile and broadband customers at no additional cost.

Given the growing threat of online scams, the company stated it developed an AI-enabled, multi-tiered intelligence platform to protect customers from “the full spectrum of scams and fraud”.

Vice chair and MD Gopal Vittal said he believes the fraud detection system will “provide our customers total peace of mind” when browsing the internet, without worrying they will be scammed.

“Our AI based tool scans internet traffic, checks with global repositories and our own database of threat actors in real time, and blocks fraudulent websites. Our solution has already reached a remarkable level of accuracy in the six months of trials.”

It is claimed to be the first such service in the world.

According to GSMA Intelligence Airtel is the second largest operator in India with 360 million mobile connections, behind leader Reliance Jio’s 458 million.

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MD and vice chair Gopal Vittal noted in its earning statement it ended fiscal 2025 on a strong note, adding “our balance sheet is solid, supported by strong cash generation, disciplined capital spending and ongoing debt reduction”.

Net profit in the quarter jumped fivefold year-on-year to INR110.2 billion ($1.3 billion), aided by a one-time tax benefit of INR59.1 billion. Consolidated revenue grew 17 per cent to INR478.8 billion.

In India, mobile service revenue increased 21 per cent to INR266.2 billion, supported by a 17.2 per cent hike in ARPU to INR245 and a 4.5 per cent increase in mobile subscribers to 424.5 million at end-March.

Mobile data usage rose 21.2 per cent to 25.1GB a month.

Its home services unit booked 21 per cent revenue growth to INR16 billion, with customers rising 31.7 per cent to top 10 million. Vittal said its IPTV services now reach more than 2,000 cities.

Digital services were mostly flat at INR7.6 billion, while Airtel Business sales dipped 3 per cent to INR53.2 billion.

Capex for the full year in India fell 14 per cent to INR366.2 billion.

Revenue in Africa increased 23 per cent to $1.4 billion, with ARPU rising 12.4 per cent to $2.40. Its mobile user base grew 8.7 per cent to 166.1 million. Monthly data usage improved 25.3 per cent to 7.2GB.

Active Airtel Mobile Money customers increased 17.3 per cent to 44.6 million, with revenue up 30.4 per cent to $269 million.

The post Airtel financials jump on tariff boost appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Airtel Africa, which is majority owned by Bharti Airtel, stated it would work with SpaceX to launch Starlink services for customers in all 14 of its operating markets in the region.

The Elon Musk-owned space entity currently has the requisite licences in nine of the locations, with the process to secure the remaining five under way.

Airtel Africa will use the partnership to enhance satellite connectivity offerings, targeting enterprises, businesses and social-economic communities like schools, health centres and rural parts of the continent. The operator will also explore rural coverage expansion through cellular backhauling.

The duo stated they aim to work together in other areas to promote digital inclusion, with SpaceX seeking to benefit from Airtel Africa’s ground infrastructure.

Sunil Taldar, MD and CEO of Airtel Africa, said the partnership demonstrates the company’s commitment to advancing digital connectivity in the region.

VP of Starlink business operations Chad Gibbs noted Starlink is available in 20 African markets and it is focused on ensuring its technology benefits as many people as possible.

SpaceX struck deals with Bharti Airtel and its rival Reliance Jio last month to launch Starlink services in India, subject to regulatory approval.

The post Airtel deepens Starlink ties with Africa deal appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The newspaper reported Siddharth Talawadekar, VP and business head for IoT with Airtel Business, and Mohan Raju, VP and vertical head of IoT with Jio, each agreed on the cost issue, but also on the prospects for 5G RedCap once devices and use cases begin to multiply.

Speaking at the ETTelecom 5G Congress 2025, Talawadekar emphasised an outlay is still required despite RedCap requiring only updated software, the newspaper wrote.

The Airtel Business executive backed the segment to pick up pace, fuelled by deployments in India and China which, in turn, would result in lower device costs.

ETTelecom reported Raju asserted the industrial uses for 5G RedCap would drive the technology, pointing to automation and surveillance as key opportunities.

He added the sheer volume of devices which will eventually be involved would help to create something of a self-fulfilling prophecy in terms of lowering the cost of hardware.

The post Airtel, Jio experts flag 5G RedCap costs appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, Airtel confirmed it had entered into definitive agreements with the Adani Enterprises subsidiary to purchase rights to use 400MHz of high-frequency spectrum in the 26GHz band across six areas of the country. In Gujarat and Mumbai, it will hold 100MHz each and 50MHz each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Neither company disclosed financial details of the transaction and noted the deal is subject to statutory approvals and conditions outlined in India’s spectrum trading guidelines.

The acquisition aligns with Airtel’s ambitions to expand its 5G customer base. The operator had around 120 million 5G users at the end of 2024, according to figures from the country’s Ministry of Communications, accounting for nearly 29 per cent of its total 414 million user base.

The deal also marks a notable shift for Adani Data Networks’ parent group, which was rumoured to be scaling back its telecom ambitions last month. The conglomerate was reportedly mulling an exit from offering 5G services after struggling to define a clear rollout plan, having originally acquired spectrum in 2022.

While Adani Group did not actually launch mobile services, the latest move indicates the company’s focus is returning to its core infrastructure roots.

The post Airtel snaps up 5G spectrum from Adani Group appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Now, with the SpaceX subsidiary “only” needing the nod from regulators to launch services. Mobile World Live (MWL) spoke to analysts about how the move will play out in an ultra competitive environment where pricing, regulation, and political issues loom large.

A business truce
Starlink’s long-mooted entry into India has been riddled with years of licensing hurdles and domestic pushback. Musk has been eyeing the market since 2021, when the company began accepting pre-orders for its satellite internet service before securing authorisation.

The move triggered a swift response from Indian authorities, who ordered Starlink to shut down pre-sales, refund customer deposits, and halt operations until commercial licences were approved.

Since, the SpaceX subsidiary navigated a complex web of compliance demands to gain entry, with a primary roadblock being spectrum allocation—whether satellite spectrum should be assigned administratively or auctioned, similar to terrestrial telecoms services. Speaking to MWL, Joe Gardiner, research analyst at CCS Insight, noted the government’s decision to allocate spectrum administratively in late 2024 lowered barriers to entry, serving as a breakthrough for the company. The move also marked a setback for domestic telecom behemoths like Airtel and Jio, after both had initially resisted Starlink’s presence.

However, the industry giants pivoted last month. While the duo have existing satellite operator partnerships with Eutesalat’s OneWeb and Luxemborg-based SES respectively, Gardiner argues the Indian telcos now see Starlink “as a complementary good due to the vendor’s ability to tap into the direct-to-consumer (D2C) market”.

Starlink’s strategic model thus presents a unique opportunity for India as OneWeb and SES primarily focus on enterprise and backhaul solutions. On the flip side, the partnerships will be key to help Starlink navigate the country’s regulatory complexities and gain access to a vast subscriber base without having to battle for market share.

Counterpoint Research analyst and co-founder Neil Shah told MWL the collaboration is “a business truce” as until the Indian telcos develop robust LEO/GEO satellite networks, they will also remain dependent on the SpaceX subsidiary. “Both Jio-Airtel and Starlink need each other to drive this market.”

Furthermore, India’s digital inclusion ambitions likely strengthened Starlink’s case for entry. According to Shah, between 10 and 12 per cent of Indian households have fixed broadband access, while mobile broadband penetration still reaches only 58 per cent of the population. The government has been making concerted efforts to bridge the digital divide through fibre expansion and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA). Last year, Reliance Jio revealed its target to connect 100 million households through its 5G AirFiber service. With India’s push for digital inclusion presenting an opportunity, Gardiner stated Starlink will likely prioritise areas with no terrestrial connectivity before expanding to rural and possibly urban regions. “With fibre roll-out so low, Starlink will be able to target most areas in India”.

Sustained challenges
While Starlink has certainly made inroads into the country, challenges persist. Gardiner pointed out pricing will pose a key obstacle to mass adoption for Starlink in a sensitive Indian market. He highlighted that Jio’s 5G AirFiber service offers an entry-level plan at just $10 per month, with premium options maxing out at $29 for 500Mb/s speeds. In contrast, Starlink’s average broadband subscription fee of $50 per month is significantly higher than local alternatives. Combined with the additional cost of Starlink’s hardware and installation, he emphasised the price point could limit its appeal to its target customers, at least in the short term.

Competition is also an inevitable challenge. While pitched as complementary, the presence of foreign players like OneWeb and SES still does pose a threat to Starlink, and others are circling. Shah explained Amazon’s Project Kuiper is expected to follow a similar collaborative entry model in India, while Apple-backed Globalstar is rumoured to be eyeing a space, adding more heat to the competitive landscape.

On the regulatory side, Gardiner noted the Indian government may limit the company’s spectrum allocation to a five-year term, signalling a cautious approach aimed at assessing satellite broadband’s impact before committing to long-term agreements.

India’s strict data localisation laws, mandatory security testing of foreign telecoms equipment and requirements to disclose any ties to India’s neighbouring nations such as China is also another barrier facing Starlink.

Shah explained the “regulatory hurdles will also come at a price”, potentially making the country less lucrative for Musk’s satellite venture compared to Western markets.

Beyond Starlink
Indeed, Musk’s growing presence in India extends beyond Starlink as his other technology companies—Tesla, X, and Grok AI—also grapple complex political and regulatory landscapes.

“Though it appears Starlink is likely to be approved in India, relations are not strong with the Indian government due to how Elon Musk conducts his other business ventures,” said Gardiner.

Musk recently even filed a lawsuit against the government over censorship of X and cancelled a planned visit to the country in 2024.

Nevertheless, Shah noted that Musk’s businesses require different market entry strategies. “Musk is in a strong position and is banking on Trump-led US and Modi-led Indian administrations to find a soft landing, whether it’s through reverse tariffs benefits, regulatory lobbying, or a middle way via joint ventures or strategic partnerships with local players.”

For Starlink, he stated the strategic partnerships route will be key. Meanwhile, X also faces regulatory pressures related to free speech and content moderation, and Grok AI’s success hinges on adapting to India’s data sovereignty rules.

Ultimately, Gardiner suggested that Musk must perform a precarious balancing act between China, India, and the US government, for which he serves as a key advisor. His businesses could face heightened scrutiny depending on geopolitical developments, and his decisions on where to prioritise investments could indeed impact the future of Starlink in India.

While its collaboration with Jio and Airtel provides a foothold, it is clear that Starlink’s journey into India and what happens if it does get there will be anything but straightforward.

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Bharti Airtel deployed Nokia’s converged package core and fixed wireless access offering to integrate 5G and 4G services into a single set of servers. The core network architecture will enable the operator to optimise its hardware footprint and reduce the cost per bit by using appliance-based packet core gateways, Nokia noted in a statement.

Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon noted the deployment enables “critical changes to our network quality and reliability” to meet the rising growth in customer data requirements.

The rollout covers network automation in a multi-year deal across the majority of the operator’s service regions in India.

In Singapore, StarHub teamed with Nokia to trial the vendor’s 5G cloud-based RAN platform, which will enable the operator to deliver new services to enterprises and host a range of AI technologies.

Separately, the vendor declared cloud RAN sets the foundation for AI-RAN infrastructure, supporting AI workload management and allowing operators to scale network resources more efficiently.

StarHub CTO Ayush Sharma said the partnership will improve network performance, efficiency and resilience, while future-proofing it for emerging technologies.

Earlier in the week, Vodafone Idea selected Nokia to expand its optical transport network in India, while in New Zealand 2degrees reached a six-year deal to use the vendor’s cloud-native communication suite.

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The cable, with a landing station in Mumbai, was laid in partnership with investors center3 and Meta, the operator noted in a statement.

Airtel Business CEO Sharat Sinha explained it is aggressively diversifying its global network and recently landed the SEA-WE-ME-6 cable in Chennai and Mumbai. “We will continue investing in global cable systems and future-proof our network.”

The 2Africa Pearls is part of the 2Africa cable system, the world’s longest subsea cable system when completed, spanning some 45,000km and connecting Asia to Africa and Europe through the Middle East, the statement added.

The cable is led by a consortium of Bayobab, center3, China Mobile International, Meta, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group and West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). Alcatel Submarine Networks is producing and installing the cable.

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In a statement, the Indian operator noted the prepayment clears its debt with an interest rate of 8.7 per cent, lowering its cost of debt on spectrum liabilities to an average of 7.2 per cent. Repayments in annual instalments on its total liabilities of INR520 billion, excluding average gross revenue levies, were extended until fiscal 2042.

The company prepaid INR259.8 billion in total spectrum liabilities in fiscal 2025 (ending 31 March), with its cumulative prepayments totalling INR666.7 billion. The average interest rate on the cumulative liabilities prepaid was about 9.7 per cent.

The prepayments were made about seven years ahead of their average maturities.

Airtel subsidiary Network i2i also voluntarily exercised a call option and redeemed $1 billion in USD perpetual notes issued in fiscal 2020.

In August 2022, the operator made a prepayment of INR80.3 billion to the DoT towards deferred liabilities related to spectrum acquired in an auction in 2015.

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The partnership will in particular target customers in remote and rural areas lacking access to connectivity, as part of a shared vision to extend digital and financial inclusion across the continent, said MTN in a statement.

The operator further explained the initiative is part of a growing global trend towards network sharing, and it appears Uganda and Nigeria will just be the start.

The duo said they will explore similar arrangements in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia, highlighting opportunities in RAN sharing and commercial and technical set-ups around fibre infrastructure. MTN and Airtel Africa added they were also open to working with other operators in countries where they operate to explore further network sharing plays.

MTN president and CEO Ralph Mupita said operators on the continent were seeing more demand for data services and while investment was needed in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity, there were also opportunities “within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources”.

Also commenting, Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar said it was competing fiercely in the market on the strength of its brand and network sharing allows it to drive digital and financial inclusion, while “at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure”.

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