Airtel Shares In Red After Reliance Jio Signs A Deal With Elon Musk's Starlink

Airtel shares started the day's trade on Wednesday, March 12 on a topsy turvy note, as the Delhi-based telecom giant's shares reacted to the latest development in the Indian satellite internet saga.

Airtel and Reliance Sign Deals With Starlink

After Airtel signed a major deal with Elon Musk's Starlink for high-speed satellite-based internet on March 11, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio stepped it up with a similar deal with the company. The deal was announced on March 12, barely half a day after Airtel made its move public.

In its deal, Airtel said, " This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorizations to sell @Starlink in India. It enables Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses."

However, earlier today, that is on March 12, Reliance Jio also took to X to announce its deal with the satellite internet company.

In its post, Jio claimed that it will bring high-speed satellite-based internet to its customers.

Bharti Airtel Ltd shares

As a result of this duel, the shares of Bharti Airtel that started on a relatively positive note soon collapsed.

The Sunil Mittal-led company started the day's trade at Rs 1,690.00, higher than the previous day's closing of Rs 1,662.95 per piece. It even went to the day's high of Rs 1,716.65.

However, soon the situation changed, as the company shares dipped in value. At the time of writing, the value of Bharti Airtel dipped by 0.45 per cent or Rs 7.45. This took the overall value of the company shares to Rs 1,655.50.

The Indian secondary market overall are trading in red with cuts, as the ripple effect of the happenings in the US and elsewhere, appears to be placating the markets here as well.