Bharti Enterprises Vice Chairman Rajan Bharti Mittal on Tuesday said their satellite telecom service was ready for rollout in India, and they were now waiting for the Centre’s green signal.
“As you know, in India we are waiting for spectrum allocation. Both our stations are ready, one in Gujarat and one in Tamil Nadu. The base stations are ready. So as soon as we get the permission, we will launch in India as well. Will go,” Rajan Bharti Mittal told ANI in an interview with the World Economic Forum.
Bharti Enterprises has already launched 635 satellites and is providing services in other parts of the world, he said.
On the debate around spectrum allocation through administrative process or auction, he reiterated Bharti Airtel’s stance, saying satellite companies will have to pay license fees and acquire spectrum through auctions, as done by traditional telcos. Operators do.
“All we are saying is that it should be a level playing field. In unconnected areas where terrestrial networks cannot go, it is a big provider of services especially for broadband. So it should be kept in mind that the satcom services that are provided Going into remote areas and also into maritime or defense or other areas, there should be a different kind of playing field,” he said.
“We are waiting for the recommendations from the government,” he said.
Akash Ambani-led Reliance Jio had also pitched for paying license fees from satellite companies and buying spectrum for its telecom services like the legacy telcos.
Global partners like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper want administrative allocation of spectrum for satellite services.
On the pricing front for such satellite-based telecom services, he said Satcom would be able to provide services in far-flung areas at a “reasonable price”.
“I think we strongly believe that the terrestrial networks in India now are very robust with 4G and 5G. I don’t think satellite is needed for urban areas, it’s really for remote areas, And this is where the administrative pricing thing has been kept in mind that the pricing should not be so high but in terrestrial they should be collaborative with the terrestrial networks which is happening in other parts of the world as well and I am sure we will do that What are the prices in India? Will be able to provide in remote areas at reasonable cost,” he argued.
On the much-discussed work-life balance issue that has emerged widely in the past few weeks among working-class Indians, Mittal said his company is of the view that one should provide qualitative work output and not quantitative work output.
“At Airtel and Bharti Enterprise, everyone who comes in as an owner, you know, owns the brand, works when he wants,” he said.
Mittal further said, “Family is important, your health is important, yes, it means you have to balance it, nothing different can be said in this, but I just say that qualitative output is important. “