Eutelsat OneWeb, a satellite communications (satcom) services operator, has been eyeing to launch commercial services in India. In a major development, the company has reportedly received trial spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in the Ku and Ka bands for 90 days. According to an ET report, the satcom operator got the spectrum by applying through the administrative route (for a nominal application fee). The Ku band is frequencies in the 27.5-29.1 GHz and 29.5 to 30 GHz and the Ka band is frequencies in the 14 GHz band.
The Ku band will used to serve OneWeb's earth stations while the Ka band will be used for the user access terminals (UATs). Eutelsat OneWeb is likely going to arrive before Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications Ltd and more to offer commercial satcom services in India.
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The Government of India and all the relevant space bodies have granted the necessary permissions to Eutelsat OneWeb. Unlike its competitors, Eutelsat OneWeb has made its intent clear to focus on the B2B model only. The company is expected to get the spectrum for final commercial deployment by June this year. It can mean that in the second half of CY2024, Eutelsat OneWeb may start offering services to enterprises throughout India.
A senior company official has confirmed that they have started using the demo airwaves to run advanced trials with key customers in India's defence forces and some large PSUs. If the demos are successful, it will instil confidence for Eutelsat OneWeb's services in the minds of its customers and in turn would also give the company feedback on what it needs to fix (if need be) on its countrywide satellite broadband network to optimise services.
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Eutelsat OneWeb is expecting the DoT to go with an early interim allocation of commercial satellite spectrum in the same bands. The company is ready to comply with the state-set final charging mechanism.
