Amazon’s Project Kuiper May Soon Join Eutelsat OneWeb, Others To Secure Satcom Licence In India

Amazon-owned Project Kuiper may soon join Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm in obtaining a satcom licence in India as the Jeff Bezos-led firm has submitted the documents to the government.

ET reported, citing officials close to the matter, Amazon has submitted all the necessary details, including its network diagram, to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and these documents are currently under evaluation.

“If all goes well and no more documents are required, the Amazon proposal will be taken up by an inter-ministerial committee in the next meeting,” a source was quoted as saying in the report. 

Project Kuiper aims to launch its initial satellite constellation with 3,232 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and intends to commence service rollout by the end of 2024.

India’s satcom industry is still in its early stages, but major global players in the space sector see it as a significant opportunity.

The DoT has yet to grant the global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence to SpaceX and Amazon, which is the first step towards launching satcom services in India.

Amazon might secure a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) permit before Starlink, a source told ET.

The Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) is currently reviewing the applications for landing rights authorisation from Elon Musk-led Starlink and Amazon-owned Project Kuiper.

Besides, Eutelsat OneWeb backed by Bharti Enterprises and Reliance Jio’s satcom venture Orbit Connect India have already obtained GMPCS permits from the government. 

Amazon is the fourth company in India to apply for a licence to provide space communication services, following Eutelsat OneWeb, Jio’s satcom unit, and Starlink.