Taking a big leap in the field of telecommunication, the country’s veteran businessman Sunil Bharti Mittal has made a big disclosure about the rates of his/her satellite communication service OneWeb. OneWeb’s executive chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said that OneWeb’s services are costlier than normal mobile rates in India, but the company can match mobile service rates in western countries.

OneWeb provides broadband Internet service using LEO satellites, instead of the traditional method of using satellites placed in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at an altitude of 36,000 km above the equator.

Let us tell you that OneWeb has launched 36 satellites in the lower orbit of the Earth (LEO) on Sunday. With this launch, OneWeb Group now has 618 satellites that can provide telecommunication services across the world including India. Giving details about the launch and services, Mittal, head of the OneWeb project, said that the services provided under it would be cost-effective and if even 30-40 people in a village use it, the rates would be at par with mobile service. However, the services for single use will cost more than the existing mobile service plans in India.

Mittal said, “If you ask, can satellite telecom prices match mobile charges? This can happen in western countries right now. But this is not the case in India with charges of $2 or $2.5 per month. This is because the rate is already very low.”

Mittal expressed hope that OneWeb would get all necessary approvals to operate services in India by July-August. OneWeb is approved for satellite services but will have to wait until spectrum is allocated to send signals, in addition to the space-communications policy.

OneWeb is Elon Musk’s company set up to provide widespread Internet service via its satellites, in contrast to SpaceX’s Starlink service. SpaceX provides services directly to individual customers. OneWeb had signed a Rs 1,000 crore deal with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch 72 of its satellites.

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