OneWeb pips rivals in satellite internet race
- Sunil Mittal-backed firm aims to roll out satellite broadband services by mid-2023
Bharti Group-backed OneWeb is set to get the first mover advantage in the satellite broadband market in India when it begins services in mid-2023, potentially piping Elon Musk’s Starlink and Reliance Jio, which have sought licenses to launch their own services.
“We expect services to begin in India by the middle of next year… this will provide connectivity in geographies or terrains that have no mobile connectivity,” Sunil Mittal, chairman, OneWeb, said. Bharti Global, the overseas arm of Bharti Enterprises, is OneWeb’s largest shareholder.
OneWeb services were delayed due to the Russia-Ukraine war, as its launch from Russia was scuttled. The geopolitical tensions have cost the company $350 million and pushed the launch deadline by over a year, Mittal said. However, OneWeb is still ahead of the competition—SpaceX’s Starlink services, Amazon’s Project Kuiper (estimated global launch in 2026-27), Reliance Jio’s Jio Satellite Communications (for mobile personal communication services) and the joint venture between Tata’s Nelco and Canada’s Telesat.
“OneWeb will be the first one to launch satellite broadband services in India,” said Anil Prakash, director general of Satcom Industry Association India. The large market created the need for satellite communications, which provided an opportunity to multiple satellite operators to launch services, he added.
OneWeb will focus on providing satellite services for enterprises across industries, Wi-Fi on airlines, emergency services and defence or military applications. The company seeks to introduce Wi-Fi for airlines by next year and is in talks for installing terminals contracted from Panasonic in some Boeing 777 aircraft.
However, Wi-Fi could be offered at the ground level, for instance, in villages via satellite-enabled terminals, directly to the consumers at 4G tariffs. “If a terminal can be dropped in a village to provide, say, community Wi-Fi or share the services, it (tariffs) could be at par with 4G services,” Mittal said. However, the launch will depend on the two landing stations OneWeb has secured in India and, more importantly, some clarity on the spectrum allocation for satellite broadband from the government. “Capacity availability for India through the satellites will be driven by the contours of the spectrum allocation, Spacecom policy and foreign investment guidelines.
Satellite broadband requires massive investment, so stakeholders will be keenly looking forward to policy clarity and certainty,” Prakash said. OneWeb is awaiting the Spacecom policy, said Mittal. India should allocate spectrum administratively, and if it takes the auction route, it should work for the industry, he added. The business case for satellite services is small, and high spectrum prices will not be viable for the industry. “We’re not competing with mobile services. If the allocation of administrative spectrum has to happen, then it has to be designed in a way which works, otherwise will potentially miss out on satellite services,” Mittal said.
The reporter was in Sriharikota at the invitation of Oneweb
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First Published:25 Oct 2022, 11:17 PM IST
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