Airtel group's OneWeb gets nod to launch satellite broadband in India

OneWeb India has become the first private entity to receive regulatory clearance to launch commercial satellite connectivity services in India. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal agency set up by Department of Space (DOS) to enable and facilitate the participation of private players in space activities, granted the necessary authorisations to launch Eutelsat OneWeb’s commercial satellite broadband services in India, the company says in a statement. Eutelsat OneWeb, the low earth orbit operator, is part of UK-based Eutelsat Group.

Eutelsat OneWeb will now be able to launch commercial connectivity services as soon as spectrum allocation has been granted by the government. “This will be a critical step forward to meet India’s ambition of providing internet connectivity for all. Eutelsat OneWeb is ready to deploy as soon as it receives the final spectrum authorization to launch commercial services,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Vice-President (Co-Chair) of the Board of Directors of Eutelsat Group and Chairman, Bharti Group says.

"We welcome IN-SPACe authorisation to OneWeb India for offering commercial satellite broadband services through LEO satellites in the country. As a next logical step, we are sanguine that the government will soon take the decision on satellite spectrum allocation to pave the way for the commencement of next-generation satellite communications in India,” Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (Retd.), Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA) says.

OneWeb India already holds the necessary licences from the Department of Telecommunications to provide broadband services using satellite connectivity. The business has also obtained in principle approval to establish and operate two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which will secure the provision of vital high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity to customers across India, once services are rolled out.

“Bridging the connectivity gap around the world requires collaboration across business but also with governments and regulators. We are pleased to have received these approvals from the space regulator that bring the country a significant step closer to providing high speed connectivity to even the most remote locations. Having completed our LEO constellation last year, we are perfectly placed to deliver this vital connectivity service to businesses across India,” Cyril Dujardin, Co-General Manager of Connectivity at Eutelsat Group, says.