Jio has partnered with SES to access its medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite technology, the only MEO constellation capable of delivering truly unique Gigabit, fiber-like services from space, it said in a statement. Jio has so far connected four remote locations – Gir (Gujarat), Korba (Chattisgarh), Nabrangpur (Odissa), and ONGC in Jorhat (Assam) to demonstrate the new service.
“Jio has enabled millions of homes and businesses in India to experience broadband internet for the first time. With JioSpaceFiber, we expand our reach to cover the millions yet to be connected,” said Akash Ambani, chairman Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.
“JioSpaceFiber will allow everyone, everywhere, to fully participate in the new digital society with gigabit access to online government, education, health, and entertainment services,” he added.
In a bid to “connect everything everywhere across land, air, sea & space” Jio’s new service will be available across the country and will help increase digital inclusivity for households in India in addition to its existing broadband services under JioFiber and JioAirFiber, the telco said.
JioSpaceFiber will further enable consumers and businesses to have access to reliable, low latency and high-speed internet and entertainment services, regardless of location, the telco said. The satellite network will also support additional capacity for mobile backhaul, further enhancing the availability and scale of Jio True5G in the remotest parts of the country, it added.With Jio having access to a combination of SES’s O3b and new O3b mPOWER satellites, it is the only company that offers game-changing technology, providing scalable and affordable broadband across all of India with a level of guaranteed reliability and service flexibility that is a first in the industry, Jio added in the statement.“Together with Jio, we are honoured to support the Government of India’s Digital India initiative with a unique solution that aims at delivering multiple gigabits per second of throughput to any location in India,” said John-Paul Hemingway, chief strategy officer at SES.
“Our first fiber-like services from space are already deployed today in parts of India, and we cannot wait to see how this will lead to digital transformation even in the most rural parts of the country,” he added.
