Jio expects to get approval for its satellite broadband offering soon

Jio has already completed with all the required submissions to local regulator IN-SPACe

Indian telco Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to gain landing rights and market access authorizations from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) by the end of January to launch its satellite-based broadband services in India, local newspaper The Economic Times reported.

According to the reports, the telco has already completed all required submissions to IN-SPACe, and anticipates receiving the necessary authorizations in the short term, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The authorization procedure for IN-SPACe is a complex process, because it requires endorsements from multiple ministries as well as several security clearances.

In 2023, Jio Platforms and the satellite provider SES established a joint venture with the aim of providing broadband connectivity through satellites.

The satellite division of Reliance Jio Infocomm has already received a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Jio’s president, Mathew Oommen, recently said that Jio’s satellite services division is in a position to launch JioSpaceFiber services just weeks after receiving the spectrum allocation.

The Indian regulator granted its first approval for satellite broadband services to the local unit of Eutelsat and OneWeb in November 2023. These companies expect to launch the service as soon as they receive spectrum.

Reliance Jio Infocomm has been rapidly expanding its 5G network using Standalone (SA) architecture since October 2022. The telco has already deployed its 5G service in 7,764 cities across 36 states in India, according to the carrier’s website.

Reliance Jio had previously secured a mix of wireless spectrum for 5G across the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. Jio is the only Indian operator with the 700 MHz low-band spectrum.

Also, Reliance Jio Infocomm’s 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) offering, dubbed JioAirFiber, is already commercially available in 514 cities in 25 states across India, according to local press reports.

JioAirFiber is available in these states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Odisha, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Tripura, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The telco had announced the launch of its 5G FWA service in eight cities across the country in September. The service was initially launched in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.