OneWeb prepares India satellite services with approvals pending

Eutelsat OneWeb is preparing to launch satellite communication services in India while awaiting further government approvals. In an October 9 interview with ANI at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi, Bharti Airtel Chief Regulatory Officer Rahul Vatts described its infrastructure as ready and its security demonstrations as completed.

Vatts said OneWeb held the required licence and authorisation from India’s space regulator. He also described provisional spectrum for testing and work with government agencies, including the National Disaster Management Authority, to demonstrate communications restoration during disasters. These are the executive’s account of preparations, rather than a government clearance announcement.

A separate October 8 Moneycontrol interview records the same pending launch. Neha Idnani, Eutelsat’s regional vice president for Asia-Pacific and director of OneWeb India, described licensing formalities as finished, infrastructure as ready and security-clearance work as ongoing. She identified business-to-business connectivity, including telecom backhaul, as the company’s focus.

The Ministry of Communications’ October 8 statement places all three licensed satellite-service providers under security assessment. Each must complete that process before seeking spectrum assignment. The new company-specific demonstration account does not establish completion of the ministry’s assessment, an assigned commercial spectrum grant or a service-start date.