Jio Platforms said Friday it is evaluating low-orbit satellite communications, partnering with global constellation providers. The move comes as Starlink's India approval remains stuck.
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Jio Platforms said Friday it is evaluating a low-orbit satellite communications rollout, positioning itself against Elon Musk's Starlink as that service remains stuck in India's approval process.
"Jio connected India on the ground. Now we must connect India from the skies," said Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms and chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, the unit that operates the country's biggest mobile network.
Ambani said Jio is partnering with leading global "constellation providers" to lease satellite capacity, aiming for a fast rollout. The company is also building its own ground-station infrastructure in India, which will support partner constellations and future satellites. "We are building long-term sovereign capability," he added.
The announcement came the same day Jio Platforms filed draft papers for a stock market listing. The IPO could raise capital for the satellite push, though the company did not disclose use-of-proceeds details.
SpaceX struck deals with Jio and Bharti Airtel last year to bring Starlink internet services to India. Commercial launch has not materialized. Bloomberg reported last week that India had effectively frozen Starlink approvals, citing security concerns. Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink business operations at SpaceX, pushed back on that report. "Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India," Dreyer wrote on X.
Jio's satellite play mirrors its earlier strategy in terrestrial telecom, where it entered the market as a latecomer and disrupted pricing with aggressive data plans. The company now commands roughly 470 million subscribers on its 4G and 5G networks. Satellite connectivity would target remote and underserved areas where fiber and towers are costly to deploy, the same addressable market Starlink has been pitching to Indian regulators.
The competitive timeline matters. Jio's ground-station buildout and capacity leases could allow it to start service within months, assuming regulatory clearances. Starlink, by contrast, still lacks a license to operate end-user terminals in India. Dreyer's statement suggested talks are ongoing, though no launch date has been set.
Jio also faces a domestic rival. Bharti Airtel has its own satellite broadband plans through a partnership with OneWeb, a low-orbit constellation backed by the UK government and Bharti Group. Airtel's OneWeb service already has landing rights and has signed up enterprise customers in India.
The satellite broadband race in India now has three serious contenders: Jio, Airtel-OneWeb, and Starlink. The first to secure consumer approvals and launch commercial service will gain a lead in customer acquisition and network footprint. Ambani framed the effort as part of India's digital sovereignty. "We will own the ground infrastructure, and we will own the customer relationships," he said. The IPO documents did not specify a timeline for satellite service.
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