Jio May Soon Receive Regulatory Approval for Launch of Satellite Internet Services in India: Report

JioSpaceFiber — the upcoming satellite-based gigabit fibre service from Reliance Jio — could launch in India soon, according to a report. The telco has reportedly made all of the mandatory submissions to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and approval from the regulator will allow the company to launch its satellite communication services in the country. The telecom operator previously demonstrated its satcom technology at the 2023 India Mobile Congress last year and it could soon become the first satellite-based giga fibre Internet service in the country.

Citing people aware of the developments, The Economic Times reports that Jio could soon receive all of the required approvals and authorisations from IN-SPACe for the launch of the company’s satcom services in the country. In order to receive approval to deploy satellite services in India, operators have to get security clearances as well as approval from several ministries, according to the report.

Last year, the telco showed off its JioSpaceFiber technology at the India Mobile Congress. At the time the company said that it has already connected four remote locations across the country — Gir in Gujarat, Korba in Chattisgarh, Nabrangpur in Odisha, and ONGC-Jorhat in Assam — with its JioSpaceFiber satellite-based giga fibre Internet service.

In order to provide access to satellite-based Internet connectivity in India, Jio has partnered with Luxembourg-based satellite telecommunications network provider Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) for access to its medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites using SES’s O3b and new O3b mPOWER satellites.

Jio’s satcom services are expected to compete with Elon Musk-led Starlink, Eutelsat Group’s OneWeb, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, firms that are also looking to launch their services in India. There’s no word from the company on plans to launch satellite Internet services in the country.