OneWeb to strengthen security tie with India

Bharti chair Sunil Mittal, the UK's OneWeb partner

The rescue of the satellite operator OneWeb will forge closer security links between India and the Western “Five Eyes” alliance, according to the billionaire who teamed up with the Government on the groundbreaking deal.

The telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal, one of India’s richest men, said OneWeb can be at the heart of new relationship between the world’s largest democracy and the Five Eyes, a longstanding intelligence partnership between Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Mr Mittal said: “While India is not a part of the Five Eyes alliance, the fact is India is a democracy cherished by the UK and the US.

“OneWeb has big programmes with the Ministry of Defence and US Department of Defence. From that big alliance that the UK is part of, India can be brought into discussions in sharing intelligence, building critical applications around OneWeb, so these countries can collaborate against terror.”

OneWeb which aims to offer broadband connectivity anywhere on Earth via a “constellation” of 650 satellites in a low orbit. It emerged from bankruptcy this month after a $1bn (£750m) rescue by the Government and Mr Mittal’s holding company Bharti Enterprises, which also owns a controlling stake in Airtel, India’s second-largest mobile operator with more than 300 million customers. Its African arm is listed in London.

They hope OneWeb will stimulate the aerospace industry, supply broadband in remote locations and act as a backup to the GPS network, which is vulnerable to jamming and even attacks by space weaponry.

Mr Mittal’s comments come amid heightened tensions between India and China, including border skirmishes in the remote Ladakh region.

He added that Airtel plans to join Western operators by removing equipment made by the Chinese manufacturer Huawei from its existing network and barring it from future upgrades. The United States has repeatedly accused Huawei of posing an security risk, which it has denied.

Mr Mittal, 63, said: “We will slowly wind it down over the next several years. We are not planning to put up any 5G networks from China.”

This weekend a Government source said that while there were no formal moves to bring India into the Five Eyes, officials are looking at closer intelligence with India.

Last month the United States signed an agreement allowing New Delhi to access satellite data crucial for targeting missiles, in response to Chinese naval activities.

Another source pointed to moves to found a new alliance, dubbed the “D10”, made up of the G7 countries with India, South Korea and Australia to align against China and reduce reliance on on Huawei.

Prof Alan Woodward, a cyber security expert at the University of Surrey, said India and Japan were becoming “members of the extended family [of Five Eyes], even if they are not yet ‘close’ family”.

“The bottom line is the Five Eyes countries and India have many common interests, plus India has a growing capability to gather intelligence.”