Airtel, Jio square off against Elon Musk's Starlink in India's satellite broadband race

Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications and Musk’s Starlink would be the key companies in the space, having received global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) licences.

Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications’ global joint venture (JV) partner SES is preparing to send more satellites into orbit, executives said. Jio entered into a JV with SES to access the latest medium-earth orbit satellite technology, which can offer gigabit, fibre-like services from space.

“We’re fully ready. Our earth station in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, is operational. JioSpaceFiber is being piloted across four locations and services will be launched as soon as the government allocates the spectrum," a senior executive said on condition of anonymity.

OneWeb is preparing to do live demonstrations by January-end , said people aware of the company’s plans. 

“Eutelsat OneWeb has all the requisite approvals, including the required telecom licences and InSpace authorization from designated authorities," said a spokesperson for Eutelsat OneWeb. “Additionally, our earth stations in Mehsana in Gujarat are in the final stages of completion and should be ready soon. We are hopeful to go live at the earliest."

Eutelsat OneWeb is the commercial entity offering satellite broadband services globally, which was created after a merger of France-headquartered Eutelsat Communications and UK-headquartered satellite operator OneWeb—in which domestic conglomerate Bharti Enterprises is a stakeholder. 

OneWeb is a Eutelsat Group subsidiary and OneWeb India is the arm operating in India. Its services are already commercially operational in many parts of the world. It currently has 630 lower-earth orbit satellites along 12 synchronized orbital planes 1,200km above the earth.

“Its two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will be operational within the next few months and with Hughes as its distribution partner, it will be serving the market right from day one of operations," said Shivaji Chatterjee, president and managing director, Hughes Communications India Pvt. Ltd, a JV where Hughes holds 67% and Airtel 33%. 

Hughes is a minority investor in OneWeb. It is a distribution partner for OneWeb in India as well as the Americas.

Starlink’s services would also need a nod from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal agency in the Department of Space that signs off on commercial launches of satellite players.

“If the regulations pertaining to satellite services are published soon, we could see services commence as early as the second or third quarter of the next financial year," said Tony Verghese, partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors. 

“However, given the elections slated for next year, it is likely that the services could commence only in 2025. This, however, is subject to further regulations being issued for the sector and the spectrum allocations being completed." 

The competition will heat up soon after the telecom bill becomes a law. In separate statements on Tuesday, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea welcomed the new telecom bill.

“I would like to warmly compliment the government for introducing a progressive and forward-looking bill, which suggests groundbreaking reforms by streamlining India’s licensing landscape," said Gopal Vittal, managing director of Bharti Airtel, India’s second largest carrier.

The top executive noted that the proposed reform on right of way will accelerate the rollout of telecom infrastructure including 5G in the country. 

Restructuring of penalties, as the government simplifies the penalty framework regime under the proposed Bill, will also be instrumental. The penalties are now a tiered system of graded penalties proportionate to the breach, starting from warning and going up to a maximum of ₹5 crore per violation.

Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea, called the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, a watershed moment in the telecom reform process that reaffirms the commitment of the government to provide Indian telecom with a future-fit framework that helps achieve the growth aspirations of new India.

“The bill carries several forward-looking provisions that will help deliver the benefits of digital connectivity to all our citizens. We warmly welcome the rationalization of penalties and the legal enforceability of right of way provisions, a long-standing request of the industry," he said.