The Indian space regulator has approved a joint venture between Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES to supply gigabit fibre internet and operate satellites there, according to a government executive.

 

The three permits for Orbit Connect India, which intends to deliver satellite-based high-speed internet access, come as companies ranging from Amazon.com to Elon Musk's Starlink compete for the right to operate satellite communication services in the world's most populated nation.

 

The authorizations had not been previously reported. They were approved in April and June by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, also known as IN-SPACe. These allow Orbit Connect to operate satellites above India, but further clearance from the country's telecoms agency is required before operations can commence.

 

IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka confirmed to Reuters that Inmarsat, another company hoping to provide high-speed satellite-based internet, had also received license to operate satellites above India. Two other firms have applied: Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon.com's Kuiper.

 

Eutelsat's Bharti Enterprises-backed OneWeb received all of its approvals late last year. According to Deloitte, India's satellite broadband service market would increase at a 36% annual rate over the next five years, reaching $1.9 billion in 2030.

 

Globally, the rush to connect rural portions of the planet using space-based internet is accelerating. Amazon intends to invest $10 billion in Kuiper, which was announced in 2019—the year SpaceX began deploying its first operational Starlink satellites.