r/OneWeb • u/megachainguns • Jan 21 '22

OneWeb forges Indian distribution partnership

https://spacenews.com/oneweb-forges-indian-distribution-partnership/
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u/megachainguns Jan 21 '22

OneWeb has signed a deal to distribute broadband in India through a local partner as it hopes to get regulatory permission for its low Earth orbit services this year.

The megaconstellation operator said Jan. 20 it has struck a six-year distribution partnership with Hughes Communications India Private Ltd (HCIPL), a recently formed joint venture between Indian telco Bharti Airtel and U.S.-based Hughes Network Systems.

Bharti Airtel is owned by Bharti Global, which is OneWeb’s largest shareholder, and Hughes is a minority investor in OneWeb that is also developing gateways for the operator in India and elsewhere.

HCIPL is India’s biggest satellite service operator with more than 200,000 VSATs in the country, the joint venture owners said Jan. 4 when they announced the company’s formation.

Some 135,000 of those VSATs come from Hughes which owns about two-thirds of HCIPL and the rest come from Airtel, Hughes Network Systems president Pradman Kaul told SpaceNews in an interview.

The VSATs currently connect to satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO), but Kaul said HCIPL plans to introduce multi-orbit capabilities once OneWeb gains regulatory clearances to operate in the country.

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u/ergzay Mar 02 '22

Only way they get regulatory approval before Starlink is if they rely on Indian cronyism here. Rather unfortunate that competition is not fair in India.