A man speaks on the phone as he walks past a Jio store in Mumbai, India, on March 22, 2023. According to Indian media reports, Reliance Jio has rolled out 5G services in 41 more cities, making its network operational in 406 cities in India.
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Jio Platforms, India’s largest telecom operator and digital services company, announced on Friday that it is exploring the deployment of low-orbit satellite communications in the country. This is an area that is attracting the attention of major global companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Akash Ambani, Managing Director, Jio Platforms and Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm, said:
Jio Platforms owns 100% stake in Reliance Jio Infocom, India’s largest telecom operator.
Ambani said the company aims to rapidly deploy satellite connectivity and is partnering with the world’s leading “constellation providers” to lease satellite capacity. Jio is building its own “long-term sovereign capabilities”, he added.
Jio also plans to build its own “ground station infrastructure” in India to support its partner satellite constellation and its own future satellites, the managing director said.
The news came as Jio Platforms filed a draft for an initial public offering on Friday.
last year, space x Jio announces agreement with India’s second largest telecom service provider, Bharti Airtelto roll out Starlink internet services across India. However, progress has been slow since then, and Starlink has yet to begin service in the country.
Like Jio, SpaceX’s Starlink also wants to provide satellite connectivity to remote and underserved areas of India.
Bloomberg reported last week that India effectively froze approval for Musk’s Starlink space-based internet service to begin commercial operations, citing security concerns. But Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink business operations, said in a post about X that this story is misleading.
“Starlink continues to have active and productive discussions with the Government of India,” Dryer said in the post.
