8 hours ago
Shares of telecom service provider Bharti Airtel Ltd. will be in focus on Wednesday, March 12, after the company announced an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet service to its customers in India.
Bharti Airtel made this announcement after market hours on Tuesday.
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.
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 were among the outperformers in Tuesday's trading session, ending 2% higher at ₹1,664. 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 5% so far in 2025.
