Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX wants the government to ensure that the upcoming satcom policy \u201cfocuses more on access and less on pricing\u201d of internet-from-space services to attract top dollars from global investors and boost satellite broadband penetration across rural India. <\/p>\n
This is since new-age broadband from space technology via numerous low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites is likely to be at least 7-to-8 times more expensive than terrestrial broadband services. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince satellite broadband can improve and save lives in India\u2019s remote regions, it\u2019s pretty important that the upcoming satcom policy focuses more on access and less on pricing,\u201d Sanjay Bhargava, the India head of SpaceX\u2019s Starlink operation, told a local TV channel. <\/p>\n
Starlink\u2019s Bhargava said an LEO-based satellite internet service, typically, requires \u201clarge numbers of such satellites to move very fast to cover the earth,\u201d which makes it “at least 7-to-8 times more expensive than terrestrial broadband,” especially as the software requirements to manage such operations are very tough. <\/p>\n
India\u2019s much-awaited new Spacecom policy is likely to underline the critical role of LEO satellite system operators in boosting broadband coverage, particularly in rural India. This, even as Bharti-backed OneWeb and SpaceX prepare to launch high-speed satellite broadband services in India next year. <\/p>\n
SpaceX recently registered a 100% owned subsidiary in India, Starlink Satellite Communications Pvt Ltd (SSCPL), which will enable them to start applying for licences, starting with trial spectrum to deploy Starlink connections in Delhi schools. This will reportedly be followed by an application for a restricted commercial licence. <\/p>\n
SpaceX, in fact, is hopeful that marquee global investors would be keen to pump in top dollars if India can be pitched as a $1 billion satellite revenue opportunity. \u201cIf we are able to show the world that there may be around 1 million (access) points in India, where each point has the ability to pay $1,000 (Rs 7,500 approx) a year for satellite broadband, then the market (opportunity) will be $1 billion of annual revenue,\u201d Bhargava said. <\/p>\n
Such a potential scenario, he added, would encourage many to invest in the country\u2019s emerging satellite broadband sector and pave the way for India’s very own satellite constellation. \u201cIndia is very good in the space (segment) with a lot of talent, and if it\u2019s able to attract capital, it\u2019s only a matter of time when we will have a fully Indian satellite constellation,\u201d the Starlink India head said. <\/p>\n
Bhargava, though, said that while Starlink can play the role of a catalyst by providing satellite broadband (connectivity), it would need to work with a host of solution providers across domains, including education, industry, tourism amongst others. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, he had said SpaceX would start discussions with India\u2019s telcos for potential collaborations to deliver high-speed satellite broadband services in India\u2019s hardest-to-reach regions. <\/p>\n
Bhargava\u2019s comments come at a time when OneWeb, SpaceX, Amazon and the Tata-Telesat combine are readying to enter India\u2019s relatively nascent fast broadband-from-space segment, leveraging their respective low\u2013earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations. <\/p>\n
India is seen as a key emerging satellite internet market with an over $1 billion annual revenue opportunity. This is since almost 75% of rural India still does not have access to broadband as many locations are still without cellular or fibre connectivity. The LEO satellite systems are being seen as a viable alternative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX wants the government to ensure that the upcoming satcom policy \u201cfocuses more on access and less on pricing\u201d of internet-from-space services to attract top dollars from global investors and boost satellite broadband penetration across rural India. This is since new-age broadband from space technology via numerous low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites is likely to be at least 7-to-8 times more expensive than terrestrial broadband services. \u201cSince satellite broadband can improve and save lives in India\u2019s remote regions, it\u2019s pretty important that the upcoming satcom policy focuses more on access and less on pricing,\u201d Sanjay Bhargava, the India head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-799164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-telecom"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}