The system would give the South Asian nation a sovereign communications layer in space while competing with Elon Musk’s company and Amazon Leo
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is planning an ambitious project to launch a large constellation of satellites into low-earth orbit.
The move would propel Ambani’s Reliance Jio, a dominant player in India’s telecom sector, into a global market currently dominated by Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Leo. Ambani is the richest man in India and has an estimated net worth of about $100 billion.
Jio plans to launch around 1,600 satellites into a low-earth-orbit altitude of about 650 km, the Economic Times reported. This would enable the company to extend its dominance in the Indian telecom and fiber internet markets to space, and would critically enable India to reduce reliance on foreign infrastructure in the strategic sector.
Reliance Jio’s plan is being evaluated by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center, the report said.
The role that Starlink has played in the Ukraine conflict has spurred national security concerns in India, especially because the US-based company could turn connectivity on and off remotely.
Starlink’s commercial launch in India is on hold, though it has received preliminary licenses. New Delhi is reportedly wary of constellations that use laser links to beam data directly between satellites outside of its control and even potentially through “surveillance hubs and hostile jurisdictions.”
Starlink has about 10,000 satellites in orbit, while Amazon Leo has about 370, with plans for up to 3,200.
The report said the Indian government is likely to back Jio in its filings with the International Telecommunication Union to secure orbital slots – scarce real estate in an already crowded chunk of space.
Read more Russian Space Forum floats public-private sector partnership for exploring the final frontierThe Indian government sees Jio’s plan as a geopolitical play, not purely a commercial one, and in sync with New Delhi’s broader initiative to cut reliance on foreign-controlled infrastructure for critical communications.
The constellation could cost Reliance Jio $10 billion-$15 billion and would take about three years to execute. It would enable Reliance Jio to offer services that are no longer dependent on towers, fiber, or geography, and even offer direct-to-device connectivity.
In March, Russia launched 16 communication satellites for its Rassvet (Sunrise) high-speed internet project, Moscow’s alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink.
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