OneWeb India, the Indian subsidiary of low-Earth orbit operator Eutelsat OneWeb, has received the necessary approvals from the country's newly formed space regulator to launch its commercial satellite broadband services in the South Asian country. The company said on Tuesday it was the first to receive authorization from the nodal agency to launch satellite broadband services in the world's second-largest market by internet users, ahead of SpaceX's Starlink and Reliance's JioSpaceFiber. However, the launch also requires spectrum allocation from the Indian government, which has not yet been completed.
Earlier this month, OneWeb and JioSpace Fiber obtained licenses from India's Department of Telecommunications to provide broadband services through satellite connections in the country. OneWeb has received in-principle approval to set up two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu with the aim of providing high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity to customers across India upon launch of its services.
Bharti Airtel, which still owns more than a fifth of OneWeb and is India's second-largest wireless network provider, is counting on delivering internet via satellite to lower data costs in India, a top executive at the company told a JPMorgan summit last month.
OneWeb already has a complete low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation and is expected to have global coverage, including oceans and mountains, by January 24. Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said he believed satellite would complement terrestrial connectivity and that in the medium term every smartphone would have built-in satellite connectivity, helping operators reduce costs per gigabyte.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Group and Vice Chairman (Co-Chair) of the Eutelsat Board of Directors, said in a prepared statement: "We are pleased to note that the Indian space regulator has given the green light for Eutelsat OneWeb to launch commercial satellite broadband services in India. Eutelsat OneWeb is ready to deploy and launch commercial services as soon as the final spectrum authorization is obtained."
This latest development comes after Eutelsat announced the completion of a $3.4 billion all-share deal with OneWeb last July.
Like Eutelsat OneWeb, Reliance hopes to provide satellite broadband services in the world's most populous country. The company showcased its service last month and claimed it would offer it at "very affordable prices" to beat the competition and reach the masses. However, neither Jio nor OneWeb disclosed specific pricing details for their satellite broadband internet services.
SpaceX's Starlink is also racing to launch satellite broadband services in India. The company registered local operations in India at the end of 2021 and hired an executive in India. However, the company is not licensed to operate in the South Asian market.
Similarly, Amazon is eyeing India's huge internet population to expand its "Project Kuiper". The company hired a local executive in January to participate in discussions and help outline its local rollout plans.
Satellite companies are looking forward to the government's green light to launch satellite broadband services in India. Satellite broadband companies are asking for administrative grants to launch services in the country, while telecom companies are asking for spectrum auctions, sources familiar with the matter said.
India's space race
The move by India’s National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) adds to the growing competition in Asia’s space industry. Macquarie analysts wrote in a report this month that China is now second only to the United States in space, having launched 34% of all satellites launched into orbit over the past five years.
India's space industry has historically been mainly promoted by the government through the National Space Agency (ISRO). Private companies play a supporting role in government-led space programs as suppliers and suppliers. According to Macquarie, India's space budget is about $2 billion, which is not high compared with the United States, China and Japan, so India accounts for only 2% of the global space economy market share.
In order to promote the development of the domestic space industry and increase its global influence, the Indian government launched the "Indian Space Policy" in April 2023. The policy is a strategic initiative to encourage private sector participation in a range of space-related activities, including the design, operation and infrastructure development of space objects. The policy outlines the roles of four key entities:
The Indian Space Agency (InSPACe) is responsible for promoting and authorizing space activities in India.
The Department of Space (DOS) is the central agency that implements this policy.
New Space India Limited (NSIL) is responsible for commercializing space technologies and platforms developed through public infrastructure.
ISRO will now focus primarily on research and development of new space technologies and applications.
New Delhi's recent push, including the development of its own global navigation satellite system NavIC, and progress by the Indian Space Research Organization have prompted investors to see opportunities to back local companies.
Macquarie wrote: "While India's domestic aerospace industry is still in its early stages, we believe opportunities exist in satellite applications. The rapidly growing digital map market applies satellite positioning technology to a variety of fields."