Bharti Group-backed OneWeb has announced that it is on course to launch its satellite-based broadband services in India.
OneWeb plans to use Indian launching capabilities in 2022 itself to serve the country’s market at the earliest. Amid the Ukraine crisis, it could not access a key cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. To this end, the company has signed a pact with NewSpace India to launch some of its remaining satellites. It has already set up 428 satellites out of the total 648 satellites it plans to put in orbit for its constellation.
According to the company, it will launch its remaining low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre launch platform located in Sriharikota.
Further, OneWeb has already received the national long distance (NLD) and the global mobile personal communications by satellite service (GMPCS) licences to deliver satellite broadband in India. It is still seeking approvals for satellite landing rights and market access approvals from the government, which would allow it to set up ground-based satellite gateways in India and provide service to customers. It expects to have all pending regulatory approvals from the government soon.
