BHARTIARTL

** Shares of Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS rise ~2% to 1,939.70 rupees

** Stock among top two percent gainers on Nifty 50 .NSEI, which is trading flat

** Operator discontinues entry-level data plan of 249 rupees with 1GB data per day for 24 days

** Rival Reliance Jio also dropped its entry-level plan on Tuesday

** Jefferies says this move will drive higher data usage, boost average revenue per user by 3% for entry-level data subscribers

** Jefferies has BRTI as its preferred pick in the sector, with PT at 2,500 rupees

** On avg, analysts rate the stock "Buy"; median PT is 2,107.50 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, BRTI up 22%

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

(([email protected]))

Updates throughout with details on results

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI posted a 14% increase in first-quarter underlying profit on Wednesday, driven by strong results from its Australian unit Optus and contributions from regional associates, including India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

Singtel's improved performance highlighted price hikes for telecom services in key markets and resilient growth from its regional associates, led by Bharti Airtel, whose post-tax contribution from India and South Asia more than doubled during the quarter.

Post-tax contribution from regional associates, including Bharti Airtel, Indonesia's Telkomsel, and Thailand's AIS, grew 24.5% to S$468 million.

As a result, Singtel's first-quarter underlying net profit rose to S$686 million ($534.77 million) from S$603 million a year earlier, largely in line with the consensus estimate of S$686.9 million, according to Visible Alpha.

"We achieved a strong set of first-quarter results despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and currency fluctuations," Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said.

On a statutory basis, Singtel reported a net profit of S$2.88 billion, sharply higher from S$690 million seen last year, bolstered by one-off gains from the sale of a partial stake in Airtel and the Intouch-Gulf Energy merger.

Yuen forecast the telecom operator's data centre business to be a "bright spot" in the ongoing financial year as its data centres in Thailand and Singapore near completion.

($1 = 1.2828 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(([email protected];))

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications STEL.SI reported a 14% rise in first-quarter underlying profit on Wednesday, driven by strong performance from Australian unit Optus and contributions from regional associates including India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator reported an underlying net profit of S$686 million ($534.77 million) for the three-month period ended June 30, up from S$603 million a year earlier.

That was largely in line with the consensus estimate of S$686.9 million, according to Visible Alpha.

($1 = 1.2828 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS drop 2.3% to 1,879 rupees

** Stock biggest loser on blue-chip Nifty 50 .NSEI index

** Over 73 million BRTI shares trade hands in 126 block deals, all at a discount to previous closing price of 1922.60 rupees - National Stock Exchange of India data

** News channel CNBC-TV18 on Thursday reported that promoter Indian Continent Investment plans to sell 0.8% stake it owns in co for $1 billion

** Over 78.5 million shares traded in stocks's second-most active session this year, 16.2x the 30-day average volume

** Analysts rate BRTI and Jio owner Reliance Industries RELI.NS "buy" on avg, while smaller rival Vodafone Idea VODA.NS rated "hold" - data compiled by LSEG

** BRTI stock up ~18% YTD, RELI up 14.3%, VODA down ~16%

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

Aug 7 (Reuters) -

• SUNIL MITTAL-LED PROMOTER ENTITY EYES PART STAKE SALE IN BHARTI AIRTEL, LAUNCHES $1 BILLION BLOCK DEAL - MONEYCONTROL

• INDIAN CONTINENT INVESTMENT LIMITED HAS LAUNCHED A BLOCK DEAL TO SELL STAKE IN BHARTI AIRTEL AT A FLOOR PRICE OF RUPEES 1,862 PER SHARE- MONEYCONTROL

Source text: https://tinyurl.com/44d4zteu

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

Aug 5 (Reuters) - India’s second-largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS posted a 43% rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, driven by new users and the lingering benefits of last year’s price hikes.

The company's consolidated net profit rose to 59.48 billion rupees ($677.73 million) for the quarter ending June 30, from 41.6 billion rupees a year ago, marking its fifth straight quarter of profit growth.

($1 = 87.7630 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]))

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, India's no. 2 telco, said on Monday its digital arm Xtelify launched a cloud platform which can optimise up to 40% in cloud spends for Indian businesses.

The company said it also entered a partnership with Singtel STEL.SI, Airtel Africa and Globe Telecom GLO.PS for a newly launched AI platform.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

KAMPALA, July 23 (Reuters) - MTN Uganda MTNU.UG, the East African country's largest telecom firm, plans to split off its fintech unit into a separate entity and aims to list it on the local bourse in three to five years, the company said late on Tuesday.

The company, which has a mobile subscriber base of about 21 million, is a unit of South Africa's MTN Group MTNJ.J and competes mainly with the local unit of India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

MTN Uganda received shareholder nod at an extra-ordinary general meeting held on Tuesday for the proposed separation of its mobile money and fintech business, the company said in a statement.

Mobile money is a cell phone-enabled service that allows subscribers to transfer money and make payments for products and services like utility bills, energy purchases, food orders and ride hails. The platform has grown rapidly in Africa, where it is now widely used.

Under the reorganisation, MTN Uganda's mobile money fintech business will be transformed into a separate entity majority owned by MTN Group Fintech Holdings B.V, the fintech arm of MTN Group.

The goal is to "ultimately see the independent fintech business list separately on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), alongside MTN Uganda, within a three- to five-year period," MTN Uganda Chief Executive Sylvia Mulinge said in the statement.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((Email:[email protected]; Tel. +254 20 499 1232; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

July 17 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• AIRTEL PARTNERS WITH PERPLEXITY

• PARTNERS WITH PERPLEXITY TO OFFER PERPLEXITY PRO

Source text: ID:nnAZN46ZCE9

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

July 9 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• INCORPORATES SUBSIDIARY AIRTEL MONEY LIMITED

Source text: ID:nBSE2FlWh6

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

Corrects typographical error in headline

July 7 (Reuters) - Sunil Mittal, the billionaire-founder of Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, and private equity firm Warburg Pincus have submitted a bid to acquire a 49% stake in Haier India at a steep discounted valuation of $720 million, Business Standard newspaper reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of telecom services provider Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS rise 2.1% to 2,006 rupees

** CLSA says investor appetite for BRTI remains high due to continuing strong growth, after conducting a roadshow in UK and EU

** Investors also attracted due to its expanding market share and widening ARPU (average revenue per user) premium to rival Reliance Jio, according to CLSA

** Brokerage, however, says BRTI's unit Bharti Hexacomm BHAX.NS may see some selling due to its costly valuations; BHAX down 3.1% for the day

** BRTI shares are up 24% in 2025 so far, compared to the 8% rise in benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

** Shares of Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS rise as much as 3.1% to record high of 1,934.50 rupees; last up 2.8%

** BRTI among top pct gainers on the Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which is up 1.1%

** Reuters could not immediately ascertain the reason behind the day's move on the stock

** Stock set to gain for third straight session

** BRTI up ~22% YTD

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

NEW DELHI, June 4 (Reuters) - A group representing Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel has said their businesses will suffer if India prices satellite spectrum at "unjustifiably low" rates that benefit satellite internet services such as Elon Musk's Starlink.

India's telecom regulator in May proposed satellite service providers pay 4% of their annual revenue to the government for offering services. Starlink had lobbied India not to auction spectrum but just assign licences in line with a global trend, saying it is a natural resource that should be shared by companies.

The Cellular Operators Association of India in a May 29 letter to the telecoms ministry sought a review of those pricing proposals, saying traditional players pay higher upfront auction charges for telecoms spectrum which make their payments to the government for spectrum roughly 21% higher, when compared to what satellite players would pay.

"Price per MHz should be equivalent or at least comparable for both, especially when used to reach the same consumers for identical services," said the letter, seen by Reuters.

"Satellite services can offer competitive and affordable alternatives to terrestrial broadband," it added.

Reliance, led by Asia's richest man Ambani, and Airtel didn't respond to Reuters' request for comment. Starlink was not immediately available for comment.

A senior Indian government source told Reuters on Wednesday the telecoms ministry is still reviewing the pricing recommendations made by the regulator, adding such industry concerns have been raised in the past.

Telecom players like Reliance Jio RELJ.NS are concerned they will be offering similar wireless broadband services as satellite providers but paying much more, said an industry source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Reliance and others have spent nearly $20 billion in recent years to get 5G spectrum via auctions to offer telecom, data and broadband services.

Ambani's company unsuccessfully lobbied New Delhi for months to auction satellite spectrum, and not allot it administratively as Musk's Starlink wanted.

Though Reliance and Airtel have signed distribution deals in March for Starlink equipment, they will continue to compete with Musk's offerings to customers once launched.

The process of Starlink getting a license is "nearly complete", telecoms minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told The Print news website on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

(([email protected];))

Adds details from court hearing, background

May 19 (Reuters) - India's Vodafone Idea VODA.NS had its petition to waive more than $5 billion in debt it owes to the government rejected by the country's top court on Monday, dealing a major setback to the telecoms giant.

The company has struggled to pay outstanding spectrum and revenue-sharing dues since a landmark 2019 Supreme Court order widened the scope of revenues on which the payments are assessed.

The court also dismissed a similar petition from larger rival Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, but the rejection will have more of an impact on Vodafone Idea, India's third-biggest telecoms carrier with an estimated net debt of $25 billion as of September.

The company's stock fell as much as 10% on Monday following the court ruling.

"We believe... very firmly, these are misconceived writ petitions," the court said, dismissing the requests.

Vodafone Idea approached the court after the government rejected its request for a waiver on interest and penalties it owes on $9.76 billion in dues, which the company said was putting its survival at risk.

The firm, a joint venture between UK-based Vodafone Group Plc VOD.L and India's Aditya Birla Group, had asked the judges to direct New Delhi to act "in public interest" and protect the "sensitive telecom sector".

To help Vodafone Idea, the government has gradually converted part of the dues into equity and increased its stake in the company to 49%.

The ruling on adjusted gross revenue has been the biggest overhang for India's telecom industry, increasing demands on companies by billions of dollars.

"No support will lead to a point of no return," Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra wrote in an April 17 letter to the government. The company "will not be able to operate beyond FY26".

"The request cannot be considered," India's communications ministry wrote in response on April 29.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Nandan Mandayam; Editing by Saad Sayeed, Kirsten Donovan)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

Recasts paragraph 1, adds details and background throughout

May 13 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, India's second-largest telecom operator, beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday, helped by a continued boost in its revenue per user from last year's price hikes and a growing subscriber base.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of 110.22 billion rupees ($1.29 billion) for the quarter ending March 31, above analysts' average expectation of 65.24 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Airtel benefited from a net tax gain of 28.92 billion rupees during the quarter.

Its average revenue per user (ARPU) – a key telecom performance metric – rose 17.2% year-on-year to 245 rupees. The company has the highest ARPU among peers.

Telecom firms continue to benefit from last year's tariff hikes, analysts have said.

India's three private mobile carriers - Reliance Industries-owned RELI.NS-Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea VODA.NS - raised tariffs in July 2024 for the first time in over two years, aiming to recoup billions invested in 5G technology.

Last month, Jio reported an ARPU of 206.2 rupees for the quarter and a 24.5% rise in profit. Vodafone Idea VODA.NS has yet to report results.

India's telecom sector has seen intense competition for market share since Jio's entry in 2017, with it overtaking peers to command the largest user base.

Airtel's user base rose 4.4% year-on-year to 424 million as of March 31, compared to Jio's 488.2 million.

Its revenue from operations came in at 478.76 billion rupees, below analysts' estimate of 487.47 billion rupees.

The March quarter marked the first time Airtel's results fully reflected the revenue contribution from unit Indus Towers INUS.NS, which it began consolidating after gaining a controlling stake last year.

Shares of Bharti Airtel closed 2.7% lower ahead of results.

($1 = 85.2780 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shailesh Kuber)

(([email protected]))

Corrects headline to say Sunil Mittal is in advanced, not early, talks for a Haier India stake

May 9 (Reuters) - Sunil Mittal, the founder of India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, is in advanced talks for a 49% stake worth $2 billion in the Indian unit of Chinese electronics and appliance maker Haier 600690.SS, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

** Shares of telecom operator Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS rise 2.5% to hit record high at 1,912 rupees

** More than 785,000 shares traded in 13 block deals at 1,887.40 rupees to 1,906 rupees per share - LSEG data

** Prices at a premium to stock's last close of 1,866 rupees

** Stock among top gainers in bluechip Nifty 50 index .NSEI which is down 0.3%

** Avg rating of 28 analysts equivalent of "buy", median PT is 1,900 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD stock up 19.5% vs 3.2% rise by Nifty 50

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] (+91 7982114624))

April 25 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• ANNOUNCES NEW INTERNATIONAL ROAMING PLANS

• UNVEILS UNLIMITED DATA PLANS ON SELECT PLANS ACROSS 189 COUNTRIES

• LAUNCHES 4,000 RUPEES INTERNATIONAL ROAMING PLAN WITH 1-YEAR VALIDITY

Source text: ID:nBSE2zwQ8P

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Shares of Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS fall 2% to 1,843.80 rupees

** Telco writes to govt seeking conversion of its spectrum dues into equity, CNBC Awaaz reports, citing sources

** Spectrum dues of BRTI till December 2024 were 740 bln rupees ($8.67 bln), per report

** Bharti Airtel did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment

** Bharti Airtel among top pct losers on the Nifty 50 index .NSEI

** BRTI up ~16% YTD vs 2.5% YTD gains in NSEI

($1 = 85.3400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

April 22 (Reuters) - Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS will buy 5G telecom spectrum from a unit of Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS, the company said on Tuesday.

Airtel and its unit Bharti Hexacom BHAX.NS have signed agreements with Adani Data Networks to acquire rights to use 400 MHz of high-frequency spectrum across six circles including Gujarat, Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh.

The companies did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

Airtel is focussed on expanding its 5G network and user base. Its 5G user base stood at about 120 million at the end of December against its total user base of 414 million.

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]))

April 21 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• EXPANDS SPAM ALERTS TO INTERNATIONAL CALLS AND MESSAGES

Source text: ID:nBSECvMYq

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS climbs as much as 3.6% to hit record high of 1,820 rupees; benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI up 2.2%

** Telco's stock last up 2.7%, taking gains this month to 1.3%; Nifty is off 0.8% on US tariff uncertainty

** BNP Paribas says BRTI growing "faster than peers" due to price hikes last year

** Also expects capex to drop, leading to moderating capex-to-sales ratio and hence, higher free cash flow, lower interest costs

** Keeps "outperform" rating, hikes target price by 10% to 2,000 rupees, implying a ~14% upside on last close

** Analysts' avg rating on BRTI stock is "buy", peer Vodafone Idea VODA.NS is rated "hold" - data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

April 2 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• BHARTI AIRTEL - BHARTI AIRTEL AND NOKIA EXPAND CORE NETWORK COLLABORATION TO SPEED-UP NEW 5G SERVICE DELIVERY

• BHARTI AIRTEL LTD - NOKIA TO PROVIDE PACKET CORE AND FIXED WIRELESS ACCESS SOLUTIONS

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

March 27 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• AIRTEL LANDS THE 2AFRICA PEARLS CABLE IN INDIA

• 2AFRICA PEARLS BRINGS OVER 100TBPS OF INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY TO INDIA

• PARTNERS WITH CENTER3 AND META FOR 2AFRICA PEARLS

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds context, details from paragraph 2 onwards

March 26 (Reuters) - India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and its unit Bharti Hexacom BHAX.NS have prepaid 59.85 billion rupees ($698.33 million) to the government, fully clearing "high-cost" liabilities from the 2024 spectrum auctions, the telecom company said on Wednesday.

Airtel, the country's no.2 telecom firm by user base, has been prepaying high-cost spectrum dues that it and other Indian telecom operators owe the government, following years of high-stakes auctions and aggressive bidding for airwaves.

The latest payment has trimmed Airtel's debt pile related to spectrum to 520 billion rupees, bringing down the cost of debt to 7.22%, the company said.

Airtel's early payments now total 666.65 billion rupees ($7.78 billion), it said, adding that it has settled liabilities with interest rates of 10%, 9.75%, and 9.3% about seven years before their average maturity dates.

The latest payment was made for liabilities that carried an interest rate of 8.65%, Airtel said, without specifying when the debt was previously due.

Peer Vodafone Idea VODA.NS owes about 1.42 trillion rupees in spectrum dues as of September 2024.

Another Airtel subsidiary, Network i2i, also redeemed $1 billion in perpetual debt securities - a debt instrument with no fixed maturity date - reducing the company’s outstanding perpetual notes to $479 million, the telecom company said.

Airtel's shares closed 0.5% higher on Wednesday after the announcement.

($1 = 85.7050 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]))

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee

BENGALURU, March 25 (Reuters) - As Starlink nears regulatory approval in India for satellite broadband services, analysts say a victory there could pave a road into more emerging markets and boost the company's ambitions to add a million subscribers every year.

There are still legal hurdles to overcome, and competition from companies such as Eutelsat and China's SpaceSail, which is entering Brazil, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. SpaceX also argues that U.S. regulations put it at a disadvantage against foreign rivals.

But a foothold in India would be a potential $25 billion boon for Starlink, helping it reshape that country's satellite broadband industry and making an attractive case to other developing markets, experts say.

"Starlink securing the contract serves both as a strategic PR victory and a demonstration that it has successfully navigated challenges that seemed insurmountable for most other operators. From Starlink’s perspective, India is not only a credibility boost but also a crucial test of its economic feasibility in emerging markets," said independent satcom specialist Davis Mathew Kuriakose.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned satellite internet network has been waiting since 2022 for licenses to operate commercially in India, locked in a regulatory impasse over spectrum allocation. Starlink did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The standoff saw Starlink clash publicly with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel over whether India should auction satellite broadband spectrum - favouring existing telecom players - or allocate it administratively, which would benefit newer entrants such as Starlink.

India decided in October it would allocate the bandwidth.

In a surprise development this month, Mittal’s Airtel and Ambani’s Jio signed separate agreements with SpaceX to bring Starlink services to India, a move industry insiders say signals that regulatory hurdles may soon clear.

Goldman Sachs forecasts that low Earth orbit (LEO) subscription fees, which include broadband and mobile services, will get dramatically cheaper, with prices dropping from $148 per month in 2023 to about $16 per month by 2035. Goldman also estimates the global satellite market will surge from $15 billion to at least $108 billion by 2035.

Space-focused financial firm Quilty Space projects Starlink will add 3 million subscribers globally in 2025, with 1 million coming from Asia, its director of research Caleb Henry said.

“India will be the biggest contributor to Starlink’s Asia subscriber growth once authorized,” Henry said.

'A SEAT AT THE TABLE'

Six industry experts interviewed by Reuters noted that SpaceX’s revenue gains in India will depend on its pricing strategy.

Three of them expect Starlink to offer competitive broadband plans, potentially starting at $15 a month — a price point designed to challenge India’s existing market, where basic plans start at about $12.

“There’s always going to be a subset of the market willing to pay a premium for convenience. India is an aspirational market, and the brand value of having a Starlink connection is also an added edge,” said Vivek Prasad, principal analyst for space and satellite at consulting firm Analysys Mason.

Starlink operates in more than 120 markets with varying levels of regulatory complexity, including spectrum coordination requirements.

The company's deals with Reliance and Airtel need final regulatory clearances but were signed just weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in Washington — an interaction that analysts say may have helped smooth the way.

Approval in India would give Starlink a leg up on any rivals hoping to enter that country, said three industry executives who declined to be named because of business sensitivities.

"India's satellite internet market is just coming up, with a potential addressable market of some 700 million customers. Starlink gets a seat at the table to influence how that market develops," said one senior executive.

India's space regulator and the department of telecoms did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Starlink's license approval.

The SatCom Industry Association - India said Starlink's entry would foster growth in the sector.

"This will fuel employment growth in satellite network operations, ground stations, equipment manufacturing, and rural broadband services, while enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian space startups collaborating with international players," the industry body said.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9920455129; X: @tweetsfromnivi;))

Adds details and background from paragraph 2 onwards

March 19 (Reuters) - Vodafone Idea VODA.NS is in exploratory talks with various satellite communication providers, including Starlink, the company said on Wednesday, a week after the Indian telecom firm's rivals signed deals with Elon Musk's company.

The mobile operator made the disclosure after Indian stock exchanges sought a clarification on its stock move and a report by local financial news website Moneycontrol earlier in the day.

Shares of Vodafone Idea rose nearly 5% on Wednesday.

"Our strategy is to provide services -- whether fixed or mobile -- in uncovered areas, where satellite makes perfect sense," Vodafone Idea Chief Technology Officer Jagbir Singh told Moneycontrol, as per the report.

"The other (strategy) is to provide fixed wireless broadband in rural areas and smaller towns, where it is expensive to roll out such services."

Last week, Musk's SpaceX signed deals with Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and Reliance Jio to bring Starlink's internet services to India.

As part of the deals, the Indian operators will stock Starlink's equipment in their retail stores, giving the US-based satellite communication firm a direct distribution point in thousands of such outlets across the country.

The deals will be conditional on Starlink obtaining government approval to begin operations in the country.

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Leroy Leo)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, March 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Elon Musk's businesses are breaking into India's orbit at interstellar speed. Weeks after the U.S. presidential advisor's electric-vehicle maker Tesla TSLA.O signed a lease for a store in Mumbai, firms backed by South Asian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal announced a deal to market Musk's Starlink internet services. The latest alliances may look like a win-win for all sides but they will complicate the SpaceX boss' ambition to conquer the world's second-largest telecoms market.

Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and Reliance Industries' RELI.NS digital services unit Jio Platforms last week said they would sell Starlink devices in their retail stores and offer its broadband service to businesses. Strong domestic partners might help Musk get the official clearances Starlink is waiting for faster. Its presence would add satellite communications to the Indian operators' suite of offerings and make it easier to bring the country's geographically remote regions onto the grid.

For now, it poses no serious challenge to the incumbent duo which boasts a combined $305 billion market capitalisation and 766 million data customers. Unless the government subsidises satellite-based providers, Starlink’s pricing could be up to 14 times that of India’s major broadband networks, analysts at Bernstein reckon.

In the medium-term, though, Airtel and Jio have little incentive to push Starlink's services to their own customers, given the newcomer's potential to eventually disrupt parts of their core business: most Indians depend on mobile data for internet, meaning there’s a gap in the market for home broadband providers like Starlink. Indeed, Jio earlier disagreed with Musk on the manner in which New Delhi should distribute spectrum for satellite broadband. Both incumbents want airwaves to be allotted for just a fraction of the 20-year period that Musk prefers. Meanwhile, Airtel's parent, Bharti Enterprises, is a big investor in Starlink's Anglo-French rival Eutelsat ETL.PA.

Ultimately, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats give the Indian government and its leading industrialists a strong incentive to make accommodating gestures in Washington's direction. India has seen its fair share of joint ventures with foreign companies rupture, New Delhi retains protectionist instincts, and tycoons are not easy partners. In the fast-evolving communications sector, it is easy to see how the goals of Musk and his new partners may quickly diverge.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

India's telecom regulator plans to recommend that satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for around five years to assess initial market adoption, defying Elon Musk's Starlink, which is seeking a 20-year permit, Reuters reported on March 13, citing an unnamed senior government source.

Reliance Industries' telecom unit signed a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services to India, the company said on March 12, a day after Bharti Airtel announced a similar arrangement with the U.S. company.

(Editing by Una Galani and Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

Corrects headline and paragraph one to clarify that Reliance Jio is offering free cricket streaming on certain plans

March 17 (Reuters) - Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom firm by users, said on Monday certain tariff plans will continue to give subscribers free streaming access to Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches, among the country's most-watched sporting events.

The plan is applicable to users recharging their accounts with 299 rupees ($3.44) or more and will enable them to watch matches on Reliance-Disney's newly merged JioHotstar streaming platform, the Reliance Group-owned firm said.

IPL, a money spinner and among the country's most-streamed content, is scheduled to be held between March 22 and May 25.

The move comes a month after Reuters reported that the Reliance-Disney JV will no longer offer completely free streaming for IPL cricket matches, as was the case in 2023 and 2024 in the old JioCinema platform, and will adopt a hybrid model where subscription kicks in after content consumption reaches a threshold.

The new plan also includes a 50-day trial of Reliance Jio's RELJ.NS, broadband internet services, to help boost home internet dominance with high-speed sports streaming.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's pricing strategy for the IPL and other cricketing events are closely watched - media rights for those have cost the merged group, India's biggest entertainment giant, nearly $10 billion in recent years.

The JV runs more than 100 TV channels and streaming apps in India's $28-billion media and entertainment market.

($1 = 86.8440 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar and Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]))