Jio Is Building an Indigenous Satellite Stack and Has Begun Filing Pre-6G Patents, Says Akash Ambani

Reliance Jio is building its own end-to-end satellite communications stack and has already started filing patents for 6G, according to chairman Akash Ambani. He spoke on 8 October 2026 at the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi.

What Ambani said

Ambani described the satellite effort as an "end-to-end indigenous stack". The aim is a satellite communications system that can be shown to be designed and built in India, so that satellite can extend Jio's network quickly to places that fibre and towers reach slowly or not at all. He framed it as part of a goal to connect every Indian home at globally competitive quality.

On 6G, his words were brief: "In fact, in our pre-6G time, we've already filed for patents." He tied this to a national target. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal of 10 per cent of global 6G patents coming from India, and Ambani said Jio would contribute to that "heavily".

Ambani did not give a timeline for a satellite fleet, and he declined to comment on recent remarks by Elon Musk.

What we do not know yet

Coverage of the speech did not say how many 6G patents Jio has filed or what technologies they cover. A separate report puts Jio Platforms' cumulative patent filings, across all areas, at 6,817 as of 31 March 2026. That figure is not a count of 6G filings. No technical details of the satellite stack, such as whether it covers user terminals, ground gateways, onboard payloads or all three, have been released.

The announcement builds on what Reliance said at its annual general meeting in June. There the company said it was evaluating its own sovereign low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellation while also working with global satellite constellation providers.

Why it matters

Satellite broadband in India is at an early and contested stage. On the same day Ambani spoke, Business Standard reported that Starlink's Indian launch was still stalled. The 5 per cent spectrum usage charge for satellite services was still waiting for Union Cabinet approval. Jio and Bharti Airtel's industry body had earlier argued that the regulator's proposed satellite spectrum charges were "unjustifiably low". Satellite spectrum is the commercial fight. Who owns the underlying technology is the strategic one.

An indigenous stack matters for three reasons:

• Sovereignty: Satellite networks carry government, defence and critical-infrastructure traffic. Domestically designed systems reduce dependence on foreign vendors for software updates, encryption and network control.
• Intellectual property: Standards-essential patents decide who earns royalties when a technology spreads worldwide. India's 10 per cent target for 6G is an attempt to get onto that table early, before standards are frozen.
• Convergence: 6G is expected to merge terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. An operator with its own satellite stack and its own 6G IP is better placed to shape how that convergence works.

The wider IMC context

Ambani's remarks set the tone for an IMC built around domestic technology. The event runs from 7 to 10 October at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, organised by the Department of Telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of India. Its theme is "Scale Without Boundaries". Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told the congress that India has built its own 4G stack and deployed it nationwide, and described 5G Standalone as the bridge to 6G. Prime Minister Modi, opening the congress on 8 October, urged that phones and network hardware be made in India and said IMC should become the platform where Indian-designed products reach global markets.

Building an indigenous satellite stack is a long, expensive job, and a patent filing is the start of a process, not proof of a standards-essential portfolio. Jio's next disclosures, especially on spectrum, launch partners and the scale of its 6G filings, will show how far the plan goes beyond intent.

Sources

• https://telecomtalk.info/imc2026-jio-developing-indigenous-satellite-technology-akashambani/1012632/
• https://www.businessworld.in/article/jio-builds-indigenous-satellite-stack-files-pre-6g-patents-akash-ambani-627594
• https://www.voicendata.com/space/jio-advances-indigenous-satellite-technology-and-pre-6g-patents-12637788
• https://stratnewsglobal.com/technology/jio-indigenous-satellite-tech-pre-6g-patents/
• https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/jio-building-indigenous-satellite-technology-for-india-akash-ambani/story
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• https://india.entrepreneur.com/business-news/indias-mobile-moment-pm-modi-at-the-india-mobile-congress-2026