Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has stated that Eutelsat OneWeb is ready for satellite broadband services in India, pending final regulatory clearances. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel is aggressively scaling its data center capacity to 1 gigawatt and building sovereign cloud infrastructure, diversifying its portfolio beyond traditional telecom services.
Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has publicly asserted that his company, through the Eutelsat OneWeb venture, is well ahead of international competitors like Starlink in the race to launch commercial satellite broadband in India. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026, Mittal highlighted that his firm has maintained a functional ground network for three years and submitted its licensing application five years ago. However, he acknowledged that the firm, like all major industry players including Starlink and Reliance Jio Satcom, currently remains in a waiting period for final security clearances and spectrum assignment from the Indian government.
While the satellite sector is waiting for the green light, Bharti Airtel is focusing on a massive pivot toward digital infrastructure. The company is actively scaling its data center capacity, managed under the Nxtra brand, with a strategic target of reaching 1 gigawatt. This expansion is designed to meet the growing demand from Indian government agencies, defense forces, and private enterprises for secure, domestic data storage. To complement this, Airtel is developing a sovereign cloud platform, reflecting a broader corporate push to localize data assets amid changing geopolitical requirements.
From a financial perspective, the company is demonstrating stability as it funds these capital-intensive projects. Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated revenue of ₹2,10,973 crore for FY26, with a net profit of ₹26,695 crore. Reflecting this improved earnings trajectory and better leverage, S&P Global Ratings upgraded the company's long-term issuer credit rating to 'BBB+' in June 2026. The company is also leveraging its massive mobile subscriber base to expand its financial services footprint in India, similar to its operational model in various African markets.
Despite the growth ambitions, the company faces notable risks. The most immediate is regulatory uncertainty, as the entire satellite broadband sector is dependent on government policy regarding spectrum allocation and security approvals. Any delay in these clearances could push back commercial timelines. Furthermore, the push into data centers and sovereign cloud is highly capital-intensive, which carries execution risks. While the company has improved its debt position, investors may track how these large-scale investments affect future cash flows, especially given the intense competition in the core mobile and broadband business. The next key monitorable for the market will be the official timeline for spectrum assignment and the commissioning schedule for the upcoming data center facilities.