SpaceX Starlink Has New Competition as Amazon May Launch Satellite Internet in India
Amazon is reported to begin steps for bringing high-speed satellite internet services to India soon,
people familiar with the matter were quoted in an Economic Times report as saying.
The move, according to reports,
is set to spark off competition with arch-rivals OneWeb and SpaceX, in order to potentially drive down satellite broadband rates.
Amazon will soon approach the government
to discuss the modalities, authorisations, permits, landing rights, and satellite bandwidth leasing costs, the ET report cited sources as saying.
Nearly 75 percent of India’s rural population
still does not have access to broadband since many locations are without cellular or fibre connectivity.
As a result, LEO satellite systems
are being viewed as a viable alternative, though it is costly initially.
Amazon is already investing over $10 billion (roughly Rs 72,500 crores)
to build a constellation of 3,236 low-Earth orbit satellites as part of its global space internet initiative, Project Kuiper.
The Department of Space (DoS)
gives landing rights for downlinking signals of foreign satellites into the country.
satellite broadband services: Amazon eyeing satellite broadband space in India – The Economic Times