Has Reliance outpaced Musk and Bezos in Indian SatCom race?

On 13th June 2024, Orbit Connect India was given green signal to operate satellite over India by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) for providing satellite-based telecom connectivity, though this news is not publicly disclosed.¹

There are a lot of things to understand here. For example, what is Orbit Connect India? What does satellite based internet mean? What is the target segment of this service? Why is this a big news? Will Indian satellite manufacturing or servicing companies benefit from this venture? We are going to discuss all of these question in this article.

Orbital Connect India.

Orbital Connect India is a joint venture between Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms (JPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industry (RIL), and SES, a global network provider headquartered in Luxembourg.

We are very familiar with RIL in India, as they disrupted the Indian telecommunication space in 2016 and has never looked back since then. But what is SES, why does JPL even need SES, and why understanding SES history is important?

SES is an international satellite telecommunication network provider having two main streams of business, starting with supplying videos (i.e. Dish TV; 48% revenue) and then moving to data connectivity (a.k.a. internet; 52% revenue) in their effort to global expansion. Started in 1985 on the initiative and support of the Luxembourgish government, SES boasts providing its services to over 80 countries. ²

In merely 25 years of their first step in globalization they have merged and later bought or continued venters with over thirteen major telecom or related companies. For example, AsiaSat of Hong Kong, Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) of Scandinavia, Star One of Brazil, Nahuelsat of Argentina, and GE Americom of North America. Seems surprising, right? and here comes the punch, these acquisitions or partnerships are in just two years of globalization!

This clears one thing up, the hunger of SES to dominate the satcom network in the world. The problematic thing is what happened to local players in this process. It is going to be interesting to see how JPL is preparing itself for this venture as we await more information.

But why SES is even required by JPL to start with?

Indeed, JPL is dominating the Indian market, but to make SatCom (Satellite Communication) a reality a well-knit constellation of satellites is an unsaid requirement, which SES has been perfecting since 1985. Having over 70 satellites in Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), JPL is laying eyes to utilize SES’s network of satellite orbiting earth. ³

Simply, the venture aims to utilize the technology of SES and marry it with the understanding of the local market by JPL.

Pros & Cons.

SatCom aims to connect hard-to-reach rural populations with internet independently to the terrestrial groundwork required. Keep in mind that a large population of India is still not utilizing internet for variety of reasons, one of which is the network blind spot. SatCom’s independence makes it resilient to the ground calamities and the tough terrains, making it rapidly deployable and easily scalable solution.

However, one should note that SatCom might lack in the key connectivity parameters like, latency, data transfer rates, and ROI of installing systems in densely populated areas. Also, we will not be able to access SatCom network directly with our general smartphones but a transponder (a.k.a. dish channel) will be required and that being said, smartphones need to upgrade their network hardware to be able to access SatCom Network.

The Fuss.

Why is this a big news story? Because in the application of bidding, Musk’s Starlink and Bezos’s Kuiper had also participated but did not get the authorization by IN-SPACe.

Speculations.

More information needs to be become public of a clear image to be painted, but one thing is clear, this venture might not be welcoming of the local satellite manufacturers or launching facilities as that part is already taken care by SES. But definitely we can expect some knowledge transfer from SES to Indian Market and some employment.

References.

1. FE Tech Desk. Jio Gets Green Signal to Launch Starlink-like Satellite Internet Service in India, Report Says. Financial Express. 13 June 2024. (Accessed: 16 June 2024) ↩︎
2. SES Annual Report 2023. “Letter from the Chairman”, p. 10. (Accessed: 16 June 2024) ↩︎
3. Our Coverage. SES. (Accessed: 16 June 2024). ↩︎

TL;DR.

Generated using AI

• Green Light: On June 13, 2024, Orbit Connect India received approval to operate satellite-based telecom services over India.
• Orbit Connect India: A joint venture between Jio Platforms (JPL) and SES, a global satellite network provider.
• SES Background: SES, founded in 1985, provides video and data connectivity services globally, with significant acquisitions and partnerships.
• Why SES?: JPL partners with SES for their extensive satellite network, necessary for satellite communication (SatCom).
• Pros & Cons of SatCom:
  • Pros: Connects remote areas, resilient to ground calamities, rapid deployment, scalable.
  • Cons: Potential issues with latency, data rates, requires transponders for connection, smartphones need hardware upgrades.
• Big News: JPL-SES venture won the bid over Musk’s Starlink and Bezos’s Kuiper.
• Speculations: Local satellite manufacturers might not benefit directly, but knowledge transfer and employment opportunities are expected.