30 November 2023

Jio Satellite Communications Ltd and Eutelsat OneWeb have received the necessary licenses to offer satellite internet in India.

The companies have the GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) license along with a pan-India ISP (Internet Service Provider) license. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allotted ISP-A along with a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) license to OneWeb. Jio won the ISP license in October.

However, satellite spectrum remains a hurdle; it is currently under debate internally by the government. Some parties want it to be allocated administratively, while others want it to be auctioned.

Four of the remotest locations in India have already been connected with JioSpaceFiber - Gir (Gujarat), Korba (Chattisgarh), Nabrangpur (Odissa), and ONGC (Jorhat, Assam) - a satellite-based gigabit speed service.

Amazon and Starlink are also trying to obtain the GMPCS license in India. Starlink is expected to receive the license soon. In India, the company tried to sell pre-bookings but was asked by the authorities to refund the amount to the customers and stop selling pre-bookings without the necessary licenses to offer services.