Sources near the telecom ministry informed businessline that the American satellite tv for pc agency is eager about doing enterprise in India. Whereas it might not be considered as disruptive, as Sunil Bharti Mittal’s OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink are additionally eyeing India’s satcom market, it stays one of many few satcom corporations that present providers by way of a product that’s ubiquitous.
As area expertise matures additional, low-earth orbit satellite tv for pc constellations are one of many first monetisable companies of the trade. With the upcoming liberalisation within the Indian area sector, a number of firms with LEO constellations are eyeing the India market.
Notably probably the most disruptive can be the provide of high-speed communication or broadband providers by way of these constellations to distant corners of the nation. Corporations like OneWeb and Starlink hope to bag defence contracts, USOF initiatives, and even personal contracts in distant geographies just like the Himalayas, the place terrestrial telephony stays inaccessible. The satcom providers additionally show invaluable in conditions the place terrestrial communication providers break down resulting from causes equivalent to pure disasters or wars. Starlink, as an illustration, was used throughout each the Ukraine and Gaza battle.
Though these providers are seen to be really disruptive, a key problem in a price-conscious market like India, particularly for telephony, can be affordability. Gadgets wanted to seize these satellite tv for pc providers are costly. In accordance with Starlink, an entry terminal wanted to make use of its broadband providers prices a further $2,000 or ₹1.6 lakh.
Apple was the primary firm to resolve the “handset drawback” to faucet into satcom providers. In 2023, the agency introduced that its iPhone 14, iPhone 14 professional, iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 professional customers can entry emergency SOS providers utilizing satcom below distinctive circumstances the place they’re off-grid with no cell or wi-fi protection. This service is obtainable in collaboration with Globalstar’s LEO community. Nevertheless, emergency SOS satcom communication isn’t accessible in India in the meanwhile, as a result of Globalstar doesn’t have the regulatory clearance to function in India.
The Telecommunication Invoice 2023 has eased the entry of personal satellite tv for pc firms into the Indian market, particularly because it solved the important thing conundrum associated to spectrum allocation. After almost two years, the Centre selected administrative allocation of satcom spectrum. Earlier, Indian telcos had been lobbying for the public sale of the airwaves utilized by satellite tv for pc providers as effectively, in a bid to limit the entry of recent personal gamers.
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