NEW DELHI (Reuters) – According to a government official, the Indian space authority has approved the joint venture between Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES to supply gigabit fiber internet and operate satellites there.
The three permissions granted to Orbit Connect India, which seeks to offer high-speed internet access via satellite, coincide with a competition amongst businesses, ranging from Elon Musk’s Starlink to Amazon.com, to establish satellite communication services in the most populated country in the world.
The authorizations have never before been made public. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, or IN-SPACe, awarded them in April and June. These permit Orbit Connect to run satellites above India, but before it can start operations, other permissions from the nation’s telecoms department are required.
An email requesting more information was not answered by Reliance, the company that owns Jio.
According to IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka, Inmarsat, a different business that aims to offer high-speed satellite-based internet, has also received permission to operate satellites over India. Kuiper from Amazon.com and Starlink from Elon Musk are the other two businesses that have applied.
Late last year, Eutelsat’s OneWeb, funded by Bharti Enterprises, received all of its approvals.
The Deloitte consulting firm projects that India’s market for satellite broadband services will expand at a rate of 36% annually over the next five years, reaching a value of $1.9 billion by 2030.
The competition to deploy space-based internet to link remote regions of the planet is picking up speed globally. Amazon said in 2019 that it would invest $10 billion in Kuiper, the company that SpaceX started using to launch its first Starlink satellites into orbit.
Sri Lanka granted Starlink initial permission to offer internet services there last week.
According to Goenka, consumers will benefit more from the increased number of Indian enterprises operating in this industry.
Goenka, a former managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra, stated, “Comparatively low pricing of communication services in India will compel global players to drive innovation to reduce their pricing.”
“This is already being done in many industries like automotive, where multinational OEMs had to innovate to meet the expectations of Indian consumers of high performance and low cost.”
He added that IN-SPACe will soon allow commercial businesses to run ground stations, allowing satellite operators to download data as they fly over India.
The government of Prime Minister Modi, who just secured an unprecedented third term, has been actively promoting the growth of India’s space sector.
This year, it declared that foreign businesses might invest up to 100% of their funds without permission in the manufacturing of satellite systems, components, and subsystems. This opened the door for foreign direct investment in the field.
Investor interest has “significantly increased” as a result, according to Goenka.
$2 million to $7 million was invested in private enterprises last year. They’re talking about $20 million to $30 million this year,” he said. “The proof of concept has happened.”
