JioFiber announces its own satellite-based broadband service in India while Elon Musk’s Starlink struggles to find its feet.

Reliance Jio has entered into an alliance with SES to establish the joint venture Jio Space Technology Limited and it will create broadband technologies based on satellites in India with speeds up to 100Gbps speeds.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Jio will start satellite-based broadband in India.
• It has established a joint venture in partnership with Luxembourgish SES.
• Jio Space Technology Limited will challenge Starlink, which is owned by Elon Musk. Starlink.

Reliance Jio on Monday said it would launch broadband services based on satellites across India in collaboration with Luxembourg-based telecommunications provider, SES. A joint venture known as Jio Space Technology Limited Jio Space Technology Limited will be the leader in the growth of broadband services making use of the geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations. Broadband service, Jio said, is capable of providing multi-gigabit connections and will be able to serve companies, mobile backhaul, and retail customers at the maximum speed of 100Gbps.

There isn’t a name for Jio’s satellite-based broadband service but it does pose an opportunity for Elon Musk’s Starlink which is trying to figure out a way to reach the Indian homes of internet users. Musk’s Starlink started accepting pre-orders last year in India however, following the intervention by the Indian government on licensing its internet-related products, they was forced to stop its launch. Starlink after being dealt an icy blow, was forced to refund pre-orders to those who were interested, who were similarly disappointed by the decision of the government.

Starlink might not yet be officially launched in India however, it has provided the required push for India’s Internet service providers to look into the satellite-based broadband market and take the first place. Airtel earlier declared that it had formed the joint venture together with Hughes Communications India to provide internet services using satellites in India. And Jio’s announcement is the latest launch into the space.

Jio has revealed that it has 51 percent of the of the equity within the joint venture while SES has a 49 per percent stake. “As part of [the] investment plan, the joint venture will develop extensive gateway infrastructure in India to provide services within the country,” Reliance Jio said. Reliance Jio. “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 [the] US $100 million.”

This joint venture Jio Space Technology, will make use of SES-12, the its high-throughput GEO satellite that serves India as well as O3b mPOWER, a satellite of SES’s MEO network, which will expand and improve Jio’s existing terrestrial infrastructure, “increasing access to digital services and applications.” While Jio Space Technology will concentrate on satellite-based Internet, Jio will continue to develop Jio’s fibre-based connectivity as well as FTTH business, and will expand it. Development of 5G is also expected to be maintained, according to Akash Ambani, Jio’s director. Jio.