SRIHARIKOTA, India (Diya TV) – OneWeb India, a subsidiary of Eutelsat OneWeb, gained approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to launch commercial satellite broadband services. This makes OneWeb India the first organization authorized for a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation in India, outpacing rivals like SpaceX’s Starlink and Reliance’s JioSpaceFiber. The approval, valid for five years, positions OneWeb India to provide 24/7 internet services to rural unconnected areas, with a potential throughput of 21 Gbps over India. The launch is still subject to spectrum allocation by the Indian government, which remains the final step for the official launch.
OneWeb India already holds licenses from the Department of Telecommunications for satellite broadband and has in-principle approval to establish gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The company, a founding member of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), plays a crucial role in India’s ambition to achieve universal internet connectivity. This development underscores the competition in the satellite broadband sector in India, with other players like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper eyeing the country’s vast internet population.