riharikota (Andhra Pradesh), (IANS) Telecom major Bharti Group founder and billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal on Sunday got a "unique birthday present" from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The Indian space agency successfully launched 36 satellites of the UK-based OneWeb, of which he is the Chairman.

OneWeb is a joint venture between India Bharti Global and the UK government.

The satellite company plans to have a constellation of about 650 satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) to offer communication services.

When queried, Mittal said it was not by design the satellite launch date coincided with his birthday.

It can also be said that it was Mittal's birthday present to ISRO as OneWeb signed two satellite launch agreements for a fee of over Rs 1,000 crore.

Referring to OneWeb's planned launch of its Gen2 satellites, Mittal said that the company may need about 12-16 launches and ISRO will have a major role to play.

(Venkatachari Jagannthan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

News BY IANS (Indo-Asian News Service)

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