Oneweb gets licence to provide satellite services in India

Bharti group-backed Oneweb has received a licence from the government to provide satellite services in the country, an official source said on Thursday.

UK-based Oneweb has plans to provide connectivity in the country through OneWeb satellite from mid-2022.

"The Department of Telecom has issued Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence to OneWeb," the official source told PTI.


An e-mail query sent to OneWeb remained unanswered.

With the licence, which allows Oneweb to provide satellite communication services in India, Bharti group will have an edge in connecting its mobile towers through satellite services.

In 2020, OneWeb was acquired by the UK government and the Bharti group.




The UK government and Bharti Global invested USD 500 million each in the company in 2020.

In 2021, SoftBank, Hughes and Eutelsat also made investments in the company.

Meanwhile, OneWeb and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, New Space India Limited (NSIL) have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme.

The first launch with NSIL is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

Satellite industry body Indian Space Association (ISpA) said the partnership between OneWeb and NSIL is a historic development and this will surely pave the way for a greater participation of private space players, resulting in a boost to the Indian space economy.