Jio building its own satellite stack, filing pre-6G patents: Akash Ambani

Reliance Jio is building its own end-to-end satellite communications technology and has begun filing patents for pre-6G technologies, the company's chairman Akash Ambani said at the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi on Thursday, 8 October 2026. Ambani said Jio had shown the satellite system at the event and had demonstrated it to the Union communications minister, and that the company is moving ahead on regulatory approvals. He did not give a date for launching a satellite service. He described satellite connectivity mainly as a way to extend Jio's broadband reach, with home broadband among its biggest uses.

Satellite internet is becoming a serious business for telecom companies, because it can reach villages, islands, ships and border areas where laying fibre or building towers is costly. Other operators are also preparing; Bharti Airtel, for example, has an agreement with SpaceX's Starlink to explore satellite internet in India, subject to regulatory approval. Jio's claim that it is building its own technology, rather than relying entirely on foreign partners, matters for both business and policy reasons.

From a business angle, owning the technology could lower costs over time and let Jio control how satellite and mobile networks work together. From a policy angle, the government has been pushing companies to develop home-grown telecom technology and intellectual property, a theme Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stressed when he opened the same event. Ambani's comments on 6G patents fit that push: countries and companies that hold key patents in a new mobile standard earn royalties and have more influence over how the technology develops.

There are limits to what was announced. No satellite launch schedule, pricing or service date was given, and regulatory approvals are still pending. Jio has also not published independent test results of the system. For enterprises and consumers, the practical impact will depend on when the service actually starts and at what price.

Short-term: Jio will continue seeking approvals and showing its satellite system to government and industry, while competitors are likely to press their own satellite plans.

Long-term: If Jio succeeds, India could have a domestic satellite broadband technology and a larger share of 6G patents, reducing reliance on imported telecom equipment and potentially lowering costs for rural connectivity.

Who is affected: Rural and remote internet users, enterprises needing connectivity in hard-to-reach places, telecom equipment makers, competing operators and policymakers working on spectrum and satellite rules.

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