There has been a huge explosion in the direction of Satellite Internet revolution in India. Reliance Jio's ambitious plan to launch 1,600 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites has received the crucial technical nod from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe). According to ET report, with this approval, Jio has come very close to creating India's first homegrown satellite constellation. This step will turn Mukesh Ambani's dream of providing high-speed internet to every corner of the country through space into reality.
Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in media reports, said that space regulator IN-SPACe has considered Reliance Jio's proposal to deploy about 1,600 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites as "technically sound" and at par with global systems like Starlink. This evaluation was done by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). After this approval, the government can provide regulatory support at the international level to Mukesh Ambani's company to acquire the orbital slot. The company had sought help from the government to obtain orbital rights through International Telecommunications Union (ITU) filings and coordination with other companies.
This step paves the way for India to build its first local LEO constellation, which is vital for national security and strategic defense needs. The LEO sector is dominated by Elon Musk's company Starlink, which has more than 10,000 satellites. But due to geopolitical conflicts, countries are trying to reduce their dependence on foreign satellite companies. A person with knowledge of the talks said in an ET report that the capacity planned by Jio is the largest ever for India. The company has proposed to provide a throughput capacity of 4.5-5 terabits per second (Tbps) in India.
In comparison, Starlink has approval for 600 gigabits per second (Gbps), while Amazon Leo plans to have 3 Tbps capacity in India, but the company is yet to get approval from IN-SPACe. Another person said that due to the orbital parameters, configuration and architecture of Jio's constellation, it can work together with other Indian constellations in the future. According to the proposal, Jio is planning to provide fixed satellite services like broadband, cellular backhaul and mobile satellite services like direct-to-device. The company is planning to build 20-22 ground stations.
In its opinion to the government, the space regulator has highlighted the benefits of Jio's proposal, including meeting strategic defense needs and reducing dependence on foreign companies. The regulator believes that the company should be given regulatory and other policy support so that India can get its first domestic, non-geostationary (NGSO) constellation. Apart from technical evaluation, there have been preliminary discussions at high levels of the government on whether defense payloads could be deployed on some LEO satellites.
The whole mathematics will change: Till now, providing internet to every village by laying fiber cable was very difficult and expensive due to geographical challenges (such as mountains, dense forests and islands). But satellite internet will change this entire mathematics.
Speed like 5G even in mountains and forests: From the remote hill villages of Uttarakhand to the forests of the North-East, there will be high-speed broadband connectivity straight from the sky.
Cheap Internet: Jio has always been known for its 'aggressive pricing'. Being an indigenous network, it is expected that Jio's satellite internet will be much cheaper than foreign companies (like Starlink).
Helpful in times of disaster: Even when mobile towers fall during floods, earthquakes or cyclones, satellite internet will continue to work without any interruption.
