OneWeb India has received authorizations from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) to launch Eutelsat OneWeb’s commercial satellite broadband services in the country. This makes OneWeb India the first organization to be granted this authorization. The low earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator, Eutelsat OneWeb, is part of the Eutelsat Group.

IN-SPACe is the agency of the government of India responsible for regulating space activities and granting authorization for conducting space activities in the country. The authorization from IN-SPACe allows Eutelsat OneWeb to launch commercial connectivity services once spectrum allocation has been granted by the government.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Group Chairman and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Eutelsat Group, expressed his pleasure at the Indian space regulator’s approval. Mittal believes that this authorization is a critical step toward meeting India’s goal of providing internet connectivity for all and achieving the vision of Digital India. Eutelsat OneWeb is ready to deploy its satellite broadband services as soon as it receives the final spectrum authorization.

Cyril Dujardin, Co-General Manager of Connectivity at Eutelsat Group, stated that the approvals from the space regulator bring India closer to providing high-speed connectivity to even remote areas. Eutelsat OneWeb already holds the necessary licenses from the Department of Telecommunications to provide broadband services using satellite connectivity in the Indian market. The company has also obtained in-principle approval to establish and operate two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, ensuring the provision of vital internet connectivity to customers across India.

It is worth noting that other companies, such as Amazon, Reliance Jio’s satcom unit, and Elon Musk’s Starlink, are also seeking approvals to launch their commercial broadband-from-space services in India. To offer satellite communication services in India, companies must obtain approvals from IN-SPACe, a GMPCS license, and spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications.

Eutelsat OneWeb is the first fully integrated GEO-LEO satellite operator with a fleet of 37 geostationary satellites and an LEO constellation of over 600 satellites.