Kiran Rathee

The industry told commerce minister Piyush Goyal that the scheme had exceeded all its targets with production more than doubling to $71 billion in

India's space regulator IN-SPACe has approved Reliance Jio's satellite proposal. This move allows India to establish its first local low earth orbit constellation. Jio plans to deploy approximately 1,600 satellites for broadband and mobile services. The proposed system offers significant data capacity, exceeding current global systems. This development enhances national security and reduces foreign satellite dependence.

Space regulator IN-SPACe has adjudged Reliance Jio's proposal to deploy about 1,600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites as “technically sound” and on par with global systems like Starlink, said government officials who didn't want to be named.

Reliance Jio's plan to launch 1,600 low earth orbit satellites has received technical approval from the space regulator IN-SPACe, marking a significant milestone in India's space capabilities and reducing reliance on foreign satellite systems.

India's mobile subscriber base saw a slight increase in June, reaching 1282.38 million users. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio led net additions for core mobile subscribers. Machine-to-machine connections also grew significantly, with Bharti Airtel leading additions. Home broadband subscribers increased by 0.7 million month-on-month. Overall subscriber additions have slowed in recent months.

Current norms bar telcos from offering such services but rapid advancements in technology, especially 5G slicing, have made the current net neutrality norms appear as too rigid and dated.

Telecom operators may be allowed to offer differentiated connectivity or internet speeds and charge varied rates for specialised services such as gaming, healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and smart factories from individual mobile users and enterprises, with the government considering a review of net neutrality norms, people aware of the details told ET.

The Indian government is reviewing net neutrality rules to allow telecom operators to offer differentiated internet speeds for specialized services as part of the 5G rollout, raising concerns about internet fairness and accessibility.

Global satellite players must coordinate with Indian constellations for spectrum access. This ensures unhindered domestic presence in the growing space communications sector. New rules will likely mandate this coordination for non-geostationary satellite providers. This move aims to prevent global entities from blocking local market entry. National security and the development of Indian capabilities are key priorities.

Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and other global satcom players may have to necessarily coordinate with similar Indian constellations, like the one proposed by Jio, to secure spectrum and offer services locally, top official sources told ET.