Reliance’s Jio Platforms gets regulatory approval to offer satellite internet

A joint venture by Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES has received approval from the Indian space regulator to provide gigabit fiber internet through satellites, Reuters reported. 

The three approvals issued to Orbit Connect India  in April and June, Pawan Goenka, the chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, said. 

Further approvals are needed by the department of telecommunications (DoT) to begin operations, Reuters reported. 

Orbit Connect India aims to provide satellite-based high-speed internet access, and will compete with Amazon’s Kuiper, Elon Musk’s Starlink, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb India. 

Another company, Inmarsat, planning to offer high-speed satellite-based internet, has also been granted approval, Goenka told Reuters. 

OneWeb India, the local arm of low-earth orbit satellite operator Eutelsat OneWeb, became the first company to get regulatory nod to launch commercial satellite broadband services in India in November last year.

Starlink has secured the DoT’s approval to offer satellite broadband services in the country, Mint reported in January. The company, however, has to clear a few more hurdles before it can offer broadband services by satellite in India.