OneWeb India has obtained the necessary authorizations from IN-SPACe, the agency responsible for regulating space activities in India, to launch Eutelsat OneWeb’s commercial satellite broadband services in the country. This makes OneWeb India the first organization to receive such authorization.
The merger between Eutelsat Communications SA (ETL) and Bharti-backed OneWeb was announced in September, with OneWeb operating as Eutelsat OneWeb from its center in London while remaining headquartered in Paris.
With the IN-SPACe authorization, Eutelsat OneWeb can now offer commercial connectivity services once the government grants spectrum allocation. The company aims to expand internet services to rural and unconnected areas as well as territorial waters in India on a 24×7 basis. The constellation, consisting of 648 satellites in circular polar orbits at 1,200km altitude, is projected to deliver approximately 21 Gbps throughput across India.
The authorization is valid for five years, conditional upon the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) assigning the necessary spectrum for gateways and user terminal operations. Additionally, Eutelsat OneWeb must obtain other required regulatory licenses and approvals.
Eutelsat OneWeb India already holds the necessary licenses from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for providing broadband services via satellite connectivity. The company has also received in-principle approval to establish and operate two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which will ensure the provision of high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity to customers across India.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Group and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Eutelsat Group, expressed satisfaction with the regulatory approval and highlighted its importance in fulfilling India’s goal of providing internet connectivity to all. Cyril Dujardin, Co-General Manager of Connectivity at Eutelsat Group, emphasized the collaboration between businesses, governments, and regulators to bridge the global connectivity gap. He stated that the approvals from the space regulator bring India closer to delivering high-speed connectivity to even remote locations, leveraging Eutelsat OneWeb’s completed LEO constellation.
(Note: The rewritten article may still contain some quotes due to limitations in removing all text. If you need further changes, please let me know.)