After Elon Musk's Starlink and Bharti's OneWeb, now Amazon is looking to start the process of bringing ultra-high-speed satellite Internet services to India, according to media reports.

Amazon is reportedly expected to approach authorities soon, including the Department of Space, to discuss the required approvals to offer satellite services in the country. As part of its Project Kuiper initiative, Amazon is investing more than $10 billion to build a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Both Starlink and OneWeb are likely to launch operations in the coming year, with Amazon's entry to India sure to fuel competition. While OneWeb is focused on the wholesale segment, SpaceX will be targeting both the urban and rural segments.

Figure 1: Blast off: In April, Amazon announced the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket will take their broadband into space.
(Source: Amazon)

However, the Starlink service, open for pre-orders in India for a refundable amount of $99, might be too expensive for Indian rural consumers, although competition is likely to bring down the cost. Globally, Starlink is believed to have already received more than 500,000 pre-orders. Amazon is yet to launch services.

If Amazon uses satellite to provide broadband in remote areas, it would be able to increase the market of its e-commerce business, which has a massive presence in India.

Glorious isolation

Nearly 50% of the Indian population is yet to be connected to the Internet, and it is a massive business opportunity for the e-commerce giant. Most of the unconnected segments are in remote or rural areas of the country.

Telecom service providers typically ignore rural areas because of the high cost of setting up the network coupled with low returns. On the other hand, the satellites promise to provide connectivity in remote areas at extremely low cost.

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The news of Amazon planning to enter Indian satellite space comes close on the heels of the government asking Starlink to apply for required approval before it starts offering services in the coming year.

The Indian government has recently altered the rules regarding the use of spectrum bands, antenna sizes and speeds for satellite firms. This change will help in accelerating the use of satellite technologies to deliver broadband in the country.

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— Gagandeep Kaur, contributing editor, special to Light Reading