New Delhi: With the aim of providing 100% network coverage across India, Jio has decided to build a new technological infrastructure with 1,600 satellites and 23 ground stations.
Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom company, plans to expand its network services through satellites rather than relying only on mobile towers and fiber cables. For this, the company has decided to create a new technological infrastructure with around 1,600 satellites and 23 ground stations across India.
6 lakh villages
At the 10th Telecom Conference held in Delhi the day before yesterday, Jio showcased its satellite connectivity plans. To reach parts of India where building conventional telecom infrastructure is difficult, the company is proposing this plan as “sovereign satellite connectivity,” with the aim of using satellites along with the existing terrestrial network.
Through this hybrid satellite-ground system, more than 600,000 villages, land areas, and sea regions will receive 100 percent coverage, Jio has said. It has been stated that this service will be especially useful in remote areas, islands, and border regions.
`Make in India'
Rather than operating as a separate system, Jio plans to integrate this satellite network with its existing mobile and fiber infrastructure. The company has announced that this network will be used in business enterprises, rural areas, aviation, the maritime sector, government, defense, and disaster relief operations.
This project is seen as another important milestone in the central government’s flagship “Make in India” initiative and as a major step toward technological self-reliance. Jio has decided to implement this project in multiple phases.
Accordingly, it has planned to conduct a trial run next September and to deploy 400 to 450 satellites by 2030. It has set a target of completing the full constellation of 1,600 satellites by 2035.
Elon Musk’s allegation
This Jio plan comes at a time when Elon Musk’s Starlink company is still waiting for the remaining approvals needed to launch commercial satellite internet services in India. Elon Musk had alleged yesterday that some wealthy individuals were blocking the Starlink project from coming to India.
