Jio is reportedly on the verge of securing regulatory approval for the launch of satellite internet services in India, according to a recent report

Jio has forged a partnership with the satellite telecommunications network provider Société Européenne des Satellites to gain access to its medium earth orbit satellites.

JioSpaceFiber — the upcoming satellite-based gigabit fibre service from Reliance Jio — could launch in India soon, according to a report. The telco has reportedly made all of the mandatory submissions to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and approval from the regulator will allow the company to launch its satellite communication services in the country. The telecom operator previously demonstrated its satcom technology at the 2023 India Mobile Congress last year and it could soon become the first satellite-based giga fibre Internet service in the country.

Citing people aware of the developments, The Economic Times reports that Jio could soon receive all of the required approvals and authorisations from IN-SPACe for the launch of the company’s satcom services in the country. In order to receive approval to deploy satellite services in India, operators have to get security clearances as well as approval from several ministries, according to the report.

Last year, the telco showed off its JioSpaceFiber technology at the India Mobile Congress. At the time the company said that it has already connected four remote locations across the country — Gir in Gujarat, Korba in Chattisgarh, Nabrangpur in Odisha, and ONGC-Jorhat in Assam — with its JioSpaceFiber satellite-based giga fibre Internet service.

To facilitate satellite-based internet connectivity in India, Jio has collaborated with the Luxembourg-based satellite telecommunications network provider Société Européenne des Satellites (SES). This partnership grants Jio access to SES’s medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, including SES’s O3b and the new O3b mPOWER satellites.

Jio’s satellite communication (satcom) services are poised to enter the competitive landscape, challenging entities such as Elon Musk-led Starlink, Eutelsat Group’s OneWeb, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, all of which are also eyeing the launch of their services in India. While there is no official announcement regarding Jio’s plans to introduce satellite internet services in the country, the collaboration positions them in the evolving space race for satellite-based connectivity.