ET Exclusive: Reliance Jio eyes September 2027 test flight for 1,600-satellite LEO network

New Delhi: Reliance Jio is aiming for a test flight in September next year for the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation it’s planning, said people aware of the matter. As part of the test flight, the company will send a few satellites into space to check hardware, software and functioning of other technologies before mass deployment begins in early 2028.

Jio plans a 1,600-strong LEO network for its satcom business. “The Jio application has been filed with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for securing orbit slots. It is looking to deploy 400-450 satellites by 2030 and complete the constellation by 2035,” said one of the persons.

Also read: Reliance Jio's 1,600-LEO satellite plan gets IN-SPACe technical nod, moves closer to India's first homegrown constellation


Jio plans a 1,600-strong LEO network for its satcom business.

The ITU application includes technical details of the constellation.

Constellation’s likely capacity up to 150 Gbps

It follows approval for Jio’s plan by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the regulator.

ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies, coordinates orbital slots and radio frequencies for satcom companies globally. “Around 90-100 minimum coverage satellites are planned to be sent in two-three quarters after the test launch, which means India can start getting satellite connectivity in 2028,” said a second person.

Reliance Jio didn’t respond to queries on the test and the ITU filing.

While the company is looking to offer connectivity across the globe, it will concentrate on India to start with. “The focus of the company is to deliver high-speed broadband to underserved regions using high throughput satellites (HTS),” said the first person cited.

Jio’s constellation is likely to offer a capacity of 100-150 gigabits per second (Gbps) throughput per satellite. When deployment is complete, 30-32 satellites will be in orbit over India and offer a capacity of 4-4.8 terabits per second (Tbps), the highest proposed so far among the LEO constellations planned for the country. Starlink has approval for delivering 600 Gbps while Amazon Leo has applied for 3 Tbps over India.

Also read: Reliance Jio eyes India's own satellite broadband network

The Jio satellites will be placed at an altitude of 650 km in space, slightly higher than those of Starlink and Amazon Leo. The company chose this as there was no major existing or planned LEO constellation in orbit at this altitude.

“From 640-700 km was a clear window as no major known constellation is there in the segment, so getting the orbital slots is not an issue as there won’t be interference problems,” said an official tracking the satcom sector.

ET had earlier reported on Jio’s proposal to offer fixed satellite services such as broadband, cellular backhaul as well as mobile satellite services like direct to device. The company plans to set up 20-22 ground stations.

The ITU filing paves the way for India to set up its first local sovereign LEO constellation, key to national security and strategic defence requirements. The LEO segment is dominated by Elon Musk-owned Starlink with over 10,000 satellites. But geopolitical conflicts are prompting countries to reduce dependence on overseas satellite companies.

While approving the Jio proposal, the space regulator highlighted to the government the merits of a sovereign constellation, including meeting strategic defence requirements and reducing dependence on overseas companies. The regulator is of the view that regulatory and other policy support should be offered to domestic companies such as Jio, so that India can get its first homegrown, non-geostationary (NGSO) constellation.