Reliance Company Jio Platforms to Soon Launch Satellite Internet Service

Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms, which is involved in businesses ranging from telecom to petroleum, may soon launch satellite internet service in the country. For this, Jio Platforms has formed a joint venture Orbit Connect with Luxembourg’s SES.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink and a unit of e-commerce and technology company Amazon have also launched satellite internet in the country. Service Approval has been sought for launch. Orbit Connect has received approval for this from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe). With this, Orbit Connect will be able to operate satellites in the country’s skies. However, to start this service, the company will have to obtain approval from the Telecom Department. Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe, told Reuters that another company, Inmarsat, has also been given approval for high-speed satellite-based internet service.

Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper have also applied for this. Last year, Eutelsat associated with Bharti Enterprises had got approval for this service. The country’s satellite broadband service market is expected to grow at a rate of 36 percent per annum in the next five years to reach about $1.9 billion. Amazon plans to invest approximately $10 billion in Kuiper.

To start satellite internet services, telecom companies have to obtain security clearance as well as approval from many ministries. Last year, at the India Mobile Congress, Reliance Jio had said that it has connected four remote areas with its JioSpaceFiber service. These fields are Gir in Gujarat, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Nabarangpur in Odisha and Jorhat in Assam, ONGC said. There may be a licensing process in providing spectrum for satellite internet service. With this, the companies providing this service will not have to bid for spectrum. This could be beneficial for Starlink. Foreign internet service companies had demanded license for this spectrum. These companies believe that if there is an auction for this in India, then this process can be implemented in other countries also. This may increase the costs of these companies.

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