Reliance-backed Jio has done what Elon Musk’s Starlink couldn’t do and becomes the second company to get the required approvals to offer satellite broadband services in India.
Jio Satellite Communications, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, and Luxembourg’s SES, had applied for the requisite licences earlier this year to beam broadband from space. The Telecom department has issued a letter of intent to Jio Satellite Communications ltd. for global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS).
Apart from Jio, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb is the other company to get DoT’s nod. However, the rollout of OneWeb’s services has reportedly been pushed back till August next year due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Apart from these two, Tata-backed Nelco, Canadian company Telesat and Amazon are also preparing to offer satellite-based internet services. Earlier, Starlink was asked by the DoT to stop taking pro-order for its high-speed internet services in India as it did not have the licences to do so. After this, SpaceX reportedly cancelled the plan to launch Starlink in India.
What services can Jio Satellite Communications offer?
The GMPCS licence allows Jio to set up a mobile satellite network to offer voice and internet services using satellites in space. This licence is for a period of 20 years for mobile satellite networks and can operate with low-earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO) and Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites.
However, Jio will use multi-orbit space networks that combine geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations.
Untapped business opportunity
Satellite-based broadband connectivity is at its nascent stages even in the international markets. Multiple companies, including Google and Facebook, have failed in their attempts, with Starlink as the only company offering its services currently.
However, this segment is untouched in India, and experts say that satellite internet is expected to grow to $4.7 billion by 2025. This is primarily because most of rural India doesn’t have access to high-speed internet connectivity.
Since satellite-based broadband doesn’t require any physical wiring or infrastructure installation, it is not only easy to offer connectivity to distant locations in a country like India and will turn out to be cheaper as well.
