India’s telecommunications landscape is set to witness a new disruption. Following the 4G revolution, satellite internet services are emerging as the next big frontier. It has also attracted the attention of Elon Musk’s Starlink, a global satellite internet provider with remarkable success worldwide.
However, Starlink’s ambitions in India face a significant hurdle from established giants such as Jio and Airtel. Both companies have already secured regulatory approvals from the Indian government, giving them a head start in the race for satellite internet services. This sets the stage for a high-stakes competition, where Starlink’s innovative technology and global expertise will be pitted against Jio and Airtel’s local knowledge of the Indian market.
Jio and Airtel Already Have GMPCS Licenses
According to Indian regulations, telecom companies must have a Global Mobile Personal Communication By Satellite (GMPCS) license to start satellite communication services in the country. Jio’s satellite division was approved by the Department of Telecommunications in 2023. The Mukesh Ambani-led company also conducted trials of satellite internet services in some cities last year.
Airtel also holds a GMPCS license through its subsidiary OneWeb. The company already has active satellite communications services in some parts of Europe and America. Airtel-backed OneWeb has its in-house chain of over 600+ satellites in space orbits, whereas Jio uses satellites from Luxembourg-based SES under a joint venture.
In either case, Jio and Airtel both have functional infrastructure and regulatory approvals from the government for satellite-based internet services.
Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Airtel, had previously announced that the company is ready to start its satellite internet services in India. However, spectrum allocation for satcom services is still pending in the country, so we have not yet witnessed the commercial rollout.
Starlink Yet To Recieve Proper Green Light in India
Starlink’s GMPCS license is in the final stages of approval. The company originally applied for the license in October 2022, but it was kept under scrutiny for due diligence. According to the latest reports, Starlink is expected to get formal approval soon, but it has not happened yet. Until then, the company cannot start its satcom services in India.
Interestingly, Amazon has also applied for a GMPCS license for its Project Kuiper. The concept is similar to Starlink and other regular satcom services. Amazon says that it aims to provide internet access in rural areas. However, not much is known about Kuiper’s developments in India.
Despite the widespread rollout of 4G services and an all-time high active user base of broadband internet users, our country has still not achieved last-mile internet connectivity. Setting up and maintaining optic fibre connections in geographically tough conditions is challenging and requires significant investments.
Satellite internet services are the perfect solution to this problem, as they require less on-ground setup. Given the massive success of 4G and the ever-growing demand for internet in India, local players and even foreign entities are showing more interest in satellite services in the country. However, commercial availability will only happen after the spectrum allocation, over which there is no information available yet.
