New Delhi: Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate announced Monday a joint venture to provide satellite-based broadband services across India. In the process Jio Platforms joined the race with billionaires Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Sunil Mittal’s OneWeb to offer reliable, high-speed internet everywhere.
Jio Platforms is the telecom and digital services arm of oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. It will forge a venture with Luxembourg-based ‘SES SA’ that ‘will use multi-orbit space networks, a combination of geostationary and medium earth orbit satellite constellations capable of delivering multi-gigabits links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers’, the firm said in a statement.
The 51:49 joint venture (Jio holding majority 51 per cent) will have up to 100 Gbps capacity from SES – a satellite-based content connectivity service provider – and will leverage Jio’s reach in India, it said. SES has over 70 satellites in two different orbits, providing video and data services to customers across the world.
The Jio-SES joint venture will use multi-orbit space networks that are a combination of geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations capable of delivering multi-gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers across the length and breadth of India and neighbouring regions.
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“Jio, as an anchor customer of the joint venture, has entered into a multi-year capacity purchase agreement, based on certain milestones along with gateways and equipment purchase with a total contract value of circa US$100 million,” the statement from Reliance said.
SpaceX’s Starlink has deployed close to 2,000 low orbit satellites to provide high-speed internet. OneWeb, a joint venture between the UK government and Mittal’s Bharti Group, provides broadband services via a constellation of 650 low earth orbit satellites. Also, Bharti Airtel Ltd in May 2019 announced a partnership with Hughes Communications to provide satellite broadband services in India.
Jio said its joint venture will be the vehicle for providing SES’s satellite data and connectivity services in India, except for certain international aeronautical and maritime customers who may be served by SES.
“It will have availability of up to 100 Gbps capacity from SES and will leverage Jio’s premiere position and sales reach in India to unlock this market opportunity,” the statement said. “As part of the investment plan, the joint venture will develop extensive gateway infrastructure in India to provide services within the country,” it added.