Amazon eyes satellite internet space in India, to take on SpaceX and OneWeb

The Department of Space (DoS) is the government entity responsible for giving companies landing rights and permission for downlinking signals of foreign satellites into Indian territory.

India is rapidly emerging as a data hub with its data usage increasing fast even as last phase connectivity to remote areas still remains unavailable through traditional broadband and cellular connections. Low-Earth Orbit satellites can prove to be a more efficient way to reach such areas even though the cost of satellite-based internet remains high.

SpaceX’s broadband service Starlink is already available for pre-order in the country at $99 (around Rs 7,200), which will provide a speed ranging between 50-150 Mbps. OneWeb, backed by the UK government and the Bharti Group, has recently launched 36 more services as it races towards starting its services by 2022.

But Amazon’s project, named Kuiper after the Kuiper Belt at the outer edges of the Solar System, will not just be competing with satellite internet in India. With proposals like Reliance Jio Infocomm’s plan to build the largest international submarine cable system, companies are eager to provide higher capacities and higher speeds to the people of the subcontinent.

"As LEO satellite technology rapidly gains global scale and bandwidth leasing costs head down, it would make strong business sense for Amazon to quickly make inroads into India’s emerging satellite broadband market to effectively compete with OneWeb and SpaceX," Rohan Dhamija, partner and head, India & Middle East at technology, media and telecom consultancy Analysys Mason told the ET.