Jio Satellite Communications has sought spectrum from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to start trial of satellite broadband services following authorisation granted by regulator IN-SPACe, sources aware of the development said.

The Department of Telecom has already granted satellite communication service licence GMPCS and internet service provider licence to Jio Satellite Communications, a PTI report from New Delhi stated yesterday.

“Jio Satellite Communications has applied for trial to spectrum last month. The commercial rollout will start once the government finalises spectrum for satellite communication,” a source told PTI.

Meanwhile, reporting on the satellite broadband venture, a Reuters report from Bengaluru yesterday added that the three approvals issued to Orbit Connect India, which aims to provide satellite-based high-speed internet access, come as companies from Amazon.com to Elon Musk’s Starlink have been vying for the go-ahead to launch satellite communication services in the world’s most populous nation.

The authorisations have not been previously reported, the Reuters report clarified. They were granted in April and June from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, known as IN-SPACe. These allow Orbit Connect to operate satellites above India.

Reliance, which owns Jio, did not respond to an email seeking further details, Reuters said.

Inmarsat, another company hoping to provide high-speed satellite-based internet, has also gotten approval to operate satellites over India, IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka told Reuters. Two other companies, Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon.com’s Kuiper, have applied.

Eutelsat’s Bharti Enterprises-backed OneWeb was given all of its approvals late last year.

India’s satellite broadband service market is expected to grow 36 percent per year over the next five years and reach $1.9 billion by 2030, according to the consultancy Deloitte.

Globally, the race to connect rural areas of the world via space-based internet is accelerating. Amazon plans to invest $10 billion in Kuiper, which was announced in 2019, the year SpaceX began deploying its first operational Starlink satellites.

Goenka said the more companies were involved in the sector in India, the better off consumers would be.

“Comparatively low pricing of communication services in India will compel global players to drive innovation to reduce their pricing,” said Goenka, the former managing director of automaker Mahindra & Mahindra.

IN-SPACe will also soon authorise private companies to operate ground stations, he said, which would enable satellite operators to download data as they pass over India.

Prime Minister Modi’s government, which just won a rare third term, has been pushing the development of India’s space industry.