Race on for satellite broadband in India
Elon Musk will now square off in the emerging satellite broadband segment in India. The three are preparing commercial launches following the government’s decision to allocate spectrum administratively and putting it in the new telecom bill. Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications and Musk’s Starlink would be the key companies in the space, having received global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) licences.
Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications’ global joint venture (JV) partner SES is preparing to send more satellites into orbit, executives said. Jio entered into a JV with SES to access the latest medium-earth orbit satellite technology, which can offer gigabit, fibre-like services from space. “We’re fully ready.
Our earth station in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, is operational. JioSpaceFiber is being piloted across four locations and services will be launched as soon as the government allocates the spectrum," a senior executive said on condition of anonymity. OneWeb is preparing to do live demonstrations by January-end , said people aware of the company’s plans.
“Eutelsat OneWeb has all the requisite approvals, including the required telecom licences and InSpace authorization from designated authorities. Additionally, our earth stations in Mehsana in Gujarat are in the final stages of completion and should be ready soon. We are hopeful to go live at the earliest," said a Eutelsat OneWeb spokesperson.
Read more on livemint.com
