India, Sept. 8 -- Reliance Jio is targeting September 2027 for the first test flight of its proposed 1,600-satellite low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation, marking a major step in the telecom operator's plans to build its own satellite communications network, according to people familiar with the matter.

The test flight is expected to put a limited number of satellites into orbit to validate the constellation's hardware, software and other technologies before wider deployment begins in early 2028. Jio has not publicly confirmed the test-flight schedule.

The operator is planning to deploy around 400-450 satellites by 2030, with the full 1,600-satellite constellation targeted for completion by 2035. An application containing technical detai...