When Reliance Jio came to the market, it surprised the existing telcos by offering free data, free voice calling and very cheap mobile services. However, the company might have another surprise stored for the market. Until now, in the telco space, only Airtel had a confirmed satellite broadband business as Bharti group owns the global satcom company OneWeb. However, that might change now. According to an ET Telecom report, Jio’s newly formed subsidiary has applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) license.
JSCL to Compete With OneWeb, Starlink, Project Kuiper and More
Jio is after a GMPCS license from DoT, which means that the company plans to offer services in the near future. But the company isn’t going to offer satellite broadband services the way Starlink plans to. According to the publication’s report, Jio is likely to resell or lease the satellite bandwidth capacity for offering cellular backhaul services in the rural and remote areas of the country. This is more like a B2B play, and that is exactly what Bharti owned OneWeb would be looking to do. JSCL might also be interested in offering services to other industry verticals such as maritime and aviation. Note that even OneWeb has applied for a GMPCS license, but it is yet to receive the permit for the same. OneWeb will work through Hughes Communications India Pvt Limited, which is a joint venture between Hughes and Airtel. As for the case of Starlink, there’s no confirmation about how the company will proceed in India. Sanjay Bhargava had stepped down from the company, and there hasn’t been a new successor named yet. Starlink had plans of providing services in India starting April 2022; however, that is likely not going to happen now.
