The partnership will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers and provide connectivity in rural areas.
However, Bharti Airtel’s release does not say that the partnership with SpaceX is an exclusive one, although it does open up a new revenue stream for the company.Near-term benefits from this deal though are likely to be limited as Starlink is yet to receive its license in India.
“For the telecom industry, the addition of satellite technology should be no different from bringing new technologies to its customers. Just like 4G, 5G, and 6G in the future, we will now have one more technology in our mix, i.e. SAT-G,” Bharti Enterprises founder & Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in a statement.
Analysts tracking the stock see satellite broadband to be complementary to terrestrial services, and not disruptive.”While we believe that Starlink can still tie up with other telcos, Bharti can potentially benefit from sale and installation of Starlink terminals (once Starlink launches operations in India) through its large retail footprint on a revenue share/commission model,” IIFL wrote in its note.
JPMorgan remains “overweight” on Bharti Airtel with a price target of ₹1,970. It said that pricing for this service will be the key as it is likely to be positioned as a premium service. In ASEAN markets, Starlink plans are priced at a 100-180% premium to fixed broadband plans.
Citi also has a “buy” rating on Bharti Airtel with a price target of ₹1,920. It said that this tie-up is likely to result in three positive implications despite commercial terms being unknown.
The deal may help Bharti offer services to people currently served in underserved rural areas, enable Bharti to expand its B2B connectivity and related offerings to enterprises and businesses along with complementing its existing offerings, Citi said.
Out of the 35 analysts that have coverage on Bharti Airtel, 30 of them have a “buy” rating, three say “hold”, while two of them have a “sell” rating.
Shares of Bharti Airtel are up for the second day running, gaining 2.6% in early trade to ₹1,706. It is one of the few stocks still trading close to their 52-week high even after the correction seen on the Nifty 50 index and the broader markets. The stock is up nearly 7% so far in 2025.
