BHARTIARTL

** 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)

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** 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)

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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)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India is shaking off a decade-old suspicion of flighty foreigners. Officials are easing rules to let them own more of its $600 billion of company debt and smoothing access to treasuries. Global economic conditions do not favour an immediate deluge of flows, but the country's road to a deeper bond market is getting shorter.

The central bank this month removed a 30% cap on outsiders owning bonds with residual maturity of less than a year. Days later, markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India proposed a simpler due diligence regime for treasury-focused investors that could ease compliance for funds with complex structures or multiple schemes.

The reforms signal India is warming up to what it once considered hot money: itinerant pools of capital that bet on interest rate and currency differentials between markets. That's a big turnaround from a decade ago. Back then, authorities restricted their access to short-term securities following massive outflows during the so-called taper tantrum, sparked by the U.S. central bank revealing it would start scaling back its asset purchase program.

At present, rising U.S. yields dim the allure of Indian debt: foreign portfolio investors have used only 14% of the quota of company bonds available to them, down from 38% in May 2020. Officials are therefore willing to adjust conditions to be more favourable for high-yield seekers like Ares Management ARES.N and Oaktree, which are pushing into the market and prefer to hold debt to redemption rather than constantly monitor residual maturities for illiquid paper.

The additional liquidity it attracts could create a new layer of issuers between top-rated companies which dominate the market and high-risk borrowers, said Jayesh Mehta, vice chairman and CEO at non-bank lender DSP Finance. Bond issuance by Indian companies hit a record high in 2024. Top issuers included Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS and the parent firm of Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

Cash will not gush in immediately, as the yield differential between U.S. treasuries and the Indian equivalent is just 170 basis points, the narrowest in two decades. Over time, the shift will help India cut its companies' dependence on bank lending. There's a long way to go: the country's corporate bond market is just 16% of GDP, less than half the ratio for China. Still, it's better to open up when inflows will be a trickle rather than a flood.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

Securities and Exchange Board of India on May 13 proposed dropping disclosure requirements on group details of foreign investors who hold Indian government bonds.

The country's central bank on May 8 withdrew short-term investment and concentration limits applied to FPIs investing in Indian company debt.

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

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

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)

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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)

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** 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

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** 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)

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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

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** 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)

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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

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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)

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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)

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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]))

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) - 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, said a senior government source.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is currently working on key recommendations to the federal government, including a time frame and pricing of satellite spectrum, which will be administratively allotted.

Musk and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani forged a partnership this week that will allow Starlink devices to be sold in Ambani's Reliance RELI.NS stores, giving it large distribution access. They were rivals earlier - Ambani's telco subsidiary had unsuccessfully lobbied New Delhi for months to auction spectrum, and not allot it administratively as Musk wanted.

Starlink has pushed New Delhi to allot spectrum for 20 years to focus on "affordable pricing and longer-term business plans", while Reliance sought it for three years, after which it wants India to reassess the market, according to their public submissions.

Another Indian telco, Bharti Airtel, has also pushed for a 3-5 year period for the licence. Airtel and Musk have also signed a distribution deal for Starlink, like Ambani's Reliance.

TRAI plans to agree to demands for a lower licence time-frame "of around 5 years and then see how the sector grows," said the senior government source, who declined to be named as the decision-making process is confidential.

"This will help understand how the market stabilises, so there's no point going beyond five years," said the official.

An industry source familiar with licensing processes said the shorter time-frame will allow New Delhi to revise spectrum prices after five years as the market develops.

TRAI did not respond to Reuters queries. Airtel, Reliance and Starlink also did not immediately respond.

The government source added it will take about a month for the TRAI to finalise its recommendations on the licence time- frame and a per megahertz spectrum pricing, which will then be submitted to India's telecoms ministry for further action.

Musk's deals with Reliance and Airtel are subject to Starlink winning pending regulatory clearances in India, but came weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in Washington, where they discussed issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.

Ambani has been worried that his telecom company, which spent $19 billion in airwave auctions, risks losing broadband customers to Starlink and potentially even data and voice clients later.

The satellite spectrum pricing "will be substantially lower" than traditional telecom licences, which are granted via auction for 20 years, the government official added.

KPMG estimates India’s satellite communication sector will grow more than 10 times in size to touch $25 billion by 2028.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

March 12 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Jio said on Wednesday it signed a deal with SpaceX to bring Starlink's internet services to India, a day after rival Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS inked a similar pact.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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

March 11 (Reuters) - India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet in India.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

(([email protected]; 8800437922))

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• BHARTI AIRTEL- VERIFICATION RESPECT TO NEWS TATA, BHARTI GROUPS NEAR MEGA DTH MERGER

• BHARTI AIRTEL- CO AND TATA GROUP ARE IN BILATERAL DISCUSSIONS

Source text: ID:nBSE6dZTzj

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

Adds more merger information, context, share price movement

Feb 25 (Reuters) - India's Tata Group and Bharti Group are close to merging their satellite TV businesses, creating a nearly $1.6 billion entity with the aim of tiding over the sustained migration of subscribers to digital streaming, Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

The merged entity is expected to be run by Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, which will likely hold between 52%-55% with the remaining held by Tata Play TATK.BO shareholders, including Walt Disney DIS.N, the report said, citing sources.

Bharti Airtel, Tata Play and Disney did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.

Tata Play, a 70:30 venture between Tata Sons and Disney, and Airtel had a combined 35 million paid subscribers as of last September, more than half the 60 million subscribers industry-wide at the time, according to a government report.

The two businesses are being approximately valued between 60 billion ($690.76 million)-70 billion rupees ($805.89 million) each, with their revenue exceeding 70 billion rupees in fiscal 2024, ET reported.

The deal is the second major one in the sector since Dish TV DSTV.NS merged with Videocon d2h in 2016 and follows the $8.5 billion-merger of Reliance Industries RELI.NS streaming media assets with Disney's Indian media assets last year.

Bharti Airtel shares were last up 1.7% on the day.

($1 = 86.8610 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• AIRTEL AND APPLE ENTER INTO A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

• DEAL TO EXCLUSIVELY OFFER APPLE TV+ AND APPLE MUSIC TO ITS WI-FI AND POSTPAID CUSTOMERS

• APPLE TV+ AVAILABLE TO HOME WI-FI CUSTOMERS AT 999 RUPEES

Source text: ID:nnAPN2NSPL5

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

(([email protected];;))

Updates share prices in paragraph 2, adds graphics and analyst comment in paragraphs 10 and 11

By Roshan Thomas and Rishav Chatterjee

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) STEL.SI issued a positive annual earnings outlook and posted a nearly threefold increase in third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, driven by an exceptional gain, propelling its shares to near six-year highs.

Shares in Singtel climbed 1.2% to S$3.4 and were on track for their strongest trading session since January 31, provided the gains hold. The stock was nearing its S$3.475 high from July 2019.

The firm's net profit rose 183.4% to S$1.3 billion ($968.85 million) for the three-month period ended December 31, from S$465 million last year.

Singtel recorded a net exceptional gain of S$639 million from disposal of partial stakes in Thailand associate Intouch INTUCH.BK and Indara, formerly known as Australia Tower Network, coupled with its share of an exceptional gain from its stake in India's Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS.

Singtel had reported a net exceptional loss of S$94 million a year earlier.

Airtel's gain primarily consisted of a fair value gain from the consolidation of Indus Towers, a reversal of a doubtful debt provision by Indus Towers, and foreign exchange gains from the appreciation of the Nigerian naira and Tanzanian shilling.

Singtel now anticipates its earnings before interest and taxes — excluding contributions from its associates — to rise at a robust pace, with a projected increase in the high teens to low twenties percentage range for the 2025 financial year.

This marks an optimistic shift from the earlier projection of growth in a more modest low-double digits.

The telecommunications giant said it expects to pay a total ordinary dividend of around 16.5 Singapore cents apiece for the financial year, higher than the 15 Singapore cents paid a year ago.

Citi analysts expect markets to react positively to the company's profit performance and have raised their price target on the stock.

"We keep Singtel at 'buy' with 5% FY25 yield poised for further expansion and with potential for additional capital management exercises in place. This is further complemented by sustained double digit net profit after tax growth outlook," Citi said.

($1 = 1.3418 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Alan Barona and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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Feb 18 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• BHARTI AIRTEL - INDIAN CONTINENT INVESTMENT SOLD 0.84% STAKE IN CO FOR 84.85 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nnAPN2NM1I3

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

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

• AIRTEL LANDS SEA-ME-WE-6 CABLE IN CHENNAI

Source text: ID:nBSE4jvw1b

Further company coverage: BRTI.NS

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Feb 14 (Reuters) - India's top court has rejected a request by telecom companies to recalculate the dues they owe the government, the Mint business daily reported on Friday.

The news sent shares of debt-saddled Vodafone Idea VODA.NS down 4.6%, while those of larger peer Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS declined 0.2%.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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

Corrects typo in headline

** Shares of Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS up 3.6% at 1,677.50 rupees

** BRTI top gainer in benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which is down 0.1%

** Telecom operator posts higher Q3 profit, helped by a one-time gain, subscriber additions and tariff hikes

** Subscriber additions were ahead of CLSA's estimates and "led the positive surprise," brokerage said

** BRTI shares up 5.7% so far this year vs a 0.3% drop in the Nifty 50

** BRTI shares jumped 54% last year

** Analysts average rating on BRTI is "buy", with median PT at 1,850 rupees, as per LSEG data

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))