Jio has partnered with satellite provider SES to access its medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite technology

Indian operator Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited demonstrated what it claims to be India’s first satellite-based giga fiber service dubbed JioSpaceFiber at India Mobile Congress 2023.

The telco said the new offering aims to provide high-speed broadband services to hard-to-reach geographies across the country.

Jio has partnered with satellite provider SES to access its medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite technology. Jio also said it has so far connected four remote locations — Gir (Gujarat), Korba (Chattisgarh), Nabrangpur (Odissa) and ONGC in Jorhat (Assam) to demonstrate the new satellite-based 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.

Jio said its new service will be available nationwide in addition to its existing broadband services under the JioFiber and JioAirFiber brands.

The satellite network will also support additional capacity for mobile backhaul, further enhancing the availability and scale of Jio’s 5G service in remote areas of India, the telco said.

“Together with Jio, we are honored 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.

Reliance Jio Infocomm recently said it has covered the entire country with its 5G network ahead of the promised time frame of December 2023.

According to a statement released by broadband speed and quality measurement firm Ookla, Jio’s chairman Akash Ambani said the carrier already deployed 85% of the 5G network infrastructure in India.

Reliance Jio Infocomm has been rapidly expanding its 5G network using Standalone (SA) architecture since October 2022. The telco has already deployed its 5G service in 7,764 cities across 36 states in India, according to the carrier’s website.

Reliance Jio had previously secured a mix of wireless spectrum for 5G across the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. Jio is the only Indian operator with the 700 MHz low-band spectrum.