Jio, SES India broadband JV
February 14, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Jio Platforms (JPL) and SES have formed a multi-year Joint Venture to supply high-performance satellite-based broadband services across India. Jio will be the anchor customer for the new JV, which will extend Jio’s network reach and resiliency by leveraging SES’s satellites in both geostationary and medium earth orbits, including O3b mPOWER fleet.
JPL and SES will own 51 per cent and 49 per cent equity stake in the joint venture respectively. The JV will use multi-orbit space networks that is a combination of geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations capable of delivering multi-gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers across the length and breadth of India and neighbouring regions.
“The Joint Venture will be the vehicle for providing SES’s satellite data and connectivity services in India, except for certain international aeronautical and maritime customers who may be served by SES,” say the pair. “It will have availability of up to 100 Gbps capacity from SES and will leverage Jio’s premier position and sales reach in India to unlock this market opportunity. As part of investment plan, the joint venture will develop extensive gateway infrastructure in India to provide services within the country. Jio, as an anchor customer of the joint venture, has entered into a multi-year capacity purchase agreement, based on certain milestones along with gateways and equipment purchase with total contract value of circa US $100 million.”
The Joint Venture will leverage SES-12, SES’s high-throughput GEO satellite serving India, and O3b mPOWER, SES’s next-generation MEO constellation, to extend and complement Jio’s terrestrial network, increasing access to digital services and applications. Jio will offer managed services and gateway infrastructure operations services to the joint venture.