15 juin 2024
Orbit Connect India, a joint venture between Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES, will provide satellite internet across India.
Orbit Connect India secured the approval of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to offer satellite internet across India. It gathered three approvals between April and June 2024, which allowed it to position satellites above India. However, it will need more approvals, for instance, from the Department of Telecommunications, to begin operations.
Amazon’s Kuiper and Elon Musk-owned Starlink are still awaiting approval to offer satellite internet in India. The British Satellite Telecom firm Immarsat and OneWeb, backed by Eutelsat Bharti Enterprises, also obtained approval from IN-SPACe to operate satellite internet in India.
Given the demand for satellite internet, especially in rural India, the market is expected to grow by 36% to reach ₹16,000 crore in the next five years.
Elon Musk's cancellation of his visit to India in April and departure to Beijing instead seems to have hit a nerve with the government.