https://techwireasia.com/2021/06/aft...pace-in-india/
After Elon Musk, Amazon eyes satellite broadband space in India
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon is apparently initiating an effort to bring high-speed satellite internet services to India, a move that is sure to spark off the competition with arch-rivals
Bharti-backed OneWeband
SpaceX owned by Elon Musk. If anything, it will at least lead to fair and lower satellite broadband rates around the world’s largest democracy.
According to
The Economic Times, Amazon will soon approach the government to discuss the modalities, authorizations, permits, landing rights, and satellite bandwidth leasing costs.
“Talks with the Department of Space (DoS) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will happen on the necessary regulatory approvals to bring Amazon’s high-speed broadband services to India via its Project Kuiper satellite constellation as part of the global launch,” mentioned the report quoting a source.
DoS gives landing rights for downlinking signals of foreign satellites into the country. Amazon is already investing in excess of US$10 billion to build a constellation of 3,236 low-Earth orbit satellites as part of its global space internet initiative,
Project Kuiper.
One person that will be keeping a close eye on the progress of Kuiper will be Elon Musk, given his own satellite venture.…. in March, Starlink began allowing Indian users to pre-order its services across several locations around the country for a refundable payment of US$99 (roughly Rs 7,200). Orders, according to the Starlink website, will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-serve basis…..
The report further quoted industry executives as saying that India is a critical emerging satellite internet market that Amazon cannot ignore. It goes on to point out that nearly three-quarters of India’s rural population still does not have access to broadband, since many areas are without cellular or fiber connectivity.