Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises, in a consortium involving the UK government, on Friday won the bid for satellite firm OneWeb. The UK government and Bharti Enterprises will each invest $500 million in this satellite technology project. Bharti will also rope in other investors.
Bharti will provide the company commercial and operational leadership and bring OneWeb a revenue base to contribute towards its future success. The deal will enable the company to complete construction of a global satellite constellation that will provide enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world.
Bharti Global, is an overseas arm of Bharti Enterprises, which operates out of London. “I am delighted that Bharti will be leading the effort to deliver the promise of universal broadband connectivity through OneWeb, with the active support and participation of the British government,” Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises said.
The business has substantial commercial use cases across the telecoms, enterprise, aviation and maritime sectors, he said. “With strong operational execution, we will be able to generate an attractive return for investors, while ensuring that Britain plays a leading role in space and next generation communications,” Mittal noted.
Mittal’s son, Shravin Bharti Mittal is a founder-director of Bharti Global and led the bid project. “I commend the Bharti Global team — led by Shravin Bharti Mittal – and our partners in the government for bringing together this strong consortium, and putting together the winning bid, within such a short timeframe,” Mittal said.
OneWeb was formed with a mission to offer high speed and low-latency wireless broadband access to billions of people across the globe, particularly in rural areas through a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit, the company said. “Bharti was one of the founding members of OneWeb and had a strategic stake in the company,” the statement added.