Is India’s Satcom Dream Finally Taking Off?

Much has been talked about the tragic events of April 22, when 26 civilians were murdered in Pahalgam, which led to tense clashes between India and Pakistan and a war-like situation. For its part, India unleashed its defence tech and drone capabilities, which made developments related to satellite technology the talk of the town. 

Well, it is said that intelligence agencies detected satellite phone signals active in the area during the attack. Quite concerning, isn’t it? 

However, this isn’t a standalone incident. 

In December, Elon Musk’s Starlink came under scrutiny, as a Starlink device was allegedly detected in conflict-hit Manipur. In November, reports emerged that Myanmarese smugglers were found using the company’s satellite internet hardware near the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Of course, Musk refuted the claims. Cut to the present day, he, quite interestingly, is preparing for a full-fledged official launch of his satellite communication (satcom) services in India.

This raises a string of questions — What does the rise of satcom mean for India? How is India placed on the regulatory front? And finally, what role do startups have in the game of satellites?

Let’s dive deep, fathom by fathom…

Why Is Satcom Critical For Bharat?

India’s pitch to double down on its satcom efforts is simple — rural development.

In 2022, the then Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced that the government wanted to connect 1.2 Bn Indians to the internet directly via personal devices by 2025–26.

This is where satcom holds a notable advantage. Well, giving the internet to people in the remotest of villages or lands, where mobile towers cannot be installed, is now possible.  

In terrestrial communication, latency and bandwidth have long been a challenge which, as per the government, can be addressed by satcom to accelerate development across India.

Speaking to Inc42, Prafulla Kumar Jain, director, Programme Management and Authorisation Directorate (IN-SPACe), said, “It was always known that satellites have their innate strength of reaching the inaccessible areas. But, in the past, terrestrial and satellite telecom struggled to go hand-in-hand, competing with each other. After the emergence of the 5G and 4G, it was well understood that the terrestrial system would not be adequate alone, and satcom would be required, especially for the cellular backhaul and such other emerging technology requirements.”

As a result, globally, there has been a policy push to fuse terrestrial and satcom technologies together for seamless communication services. He added that it is important for India to ensure that the internet reaches the farthest corner of the country. 

“Even today, there are shadow areas where we often see our cellular connections drop. Satcom will address all these challenges and become a core part of the telecom system,” said Jain.

But Who Holds The Satcom Cards?

Satellite broadcasting has existed in India for decades now. In 1975, the Indian Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) used the American ATS-6 satellite to broadcast natural science programmes to children in the rural areas. 

Later, 24X7 satellite broadcasting entered India in 1991 with CNN. Further, with the advent of direct-to-home (DTH) in the early 2000s, satellite broadcasting flourished.

While satcom itself is not a new concept in India, its use in telecommunications is relatively recent and requires the procurement of multiple licences.

Satellite operators Starlink and Ananth Technologies recently received their IN-SPACe licence. While Starlink operates in the low Earth orbit (LEO), Ananth is building satellites for the geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

The second tier comprises service providers, which include internet service providers (ISPs), very small aperture terminal (VSAT) service providers, and Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) service providers. Jio, OneWeb, and Starlink have already procured GMPCS service licences.

Besides, satellite services providers like Inmarsat, Intelsat, and a few others have also received government licences to work in both broadcast and telecommunication segments.

Also, in the last few months, the Indian government has tightened norms around satcom, including barring satcom service providers from accessing user data from India and processing it overseas.

Enforcing this are two regulatory authorities — the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT). 

IN-SPACe provides the space segment authorisation, while the DoT provides the services licences. The wireless planning and coordination wing (WPC) under the DoT carries out the spectrum allocation. An inter-ministerial committee involving various governing bodies reviews all applications.

As this involves approval and licences from various government entities, the entire procedure takes months. 

However, IN-SPACe has set a target to grant space authorisation within 120 days of receiving complete information from the applicants.

The Indian government and space agencies are focussed on providing satcom through various constellations placed in the lower Earth orbit. The cost of launching satellites has significantly reduced, and it is largely the unit economics that’s driving this surge.

However, according to Subba Rao Pavuluri, chairman and MD of Ananth Technologies, satellites that operate in the geosynchronous orbit allow the government to take satcom services to rural and remote areas of the country more efficiently. 

“We are working on the idea to build a high-impact satellite, which can deliver 100 GBPS in speed, or it can be more than that… Today, foreign companies like Starlink are coming into India, and I don’t think they can offer a stable bandwidth,” Pavuluri said. 

LEO Or GEO: Where Lies The Satcom Edge?

In the last few years, LEO satellite launches (160 km to 2,000 km above the Earth’s surface) have grown exponentially for wireless satellite broadband as well as satellite imaging. Due to lower latency, it provides better global coverage at a lower cost. However, it has limitations.

Pavuluri said that LEO orbit satellites need to be replaced after three to five years versus GEO orbit satellites (operational at 35,786 km above the Earth’s equator) that have a longer life cycle, lasting for 50 years. 

Suyash Singh, cofounder and CEO of GalaxEye, a startup working in the satellite imaging segment, said that while GEO satellites are more efficient, as many as 30 LEO satellites can be placed in the orbit at the cost of one GEO satellite. 

Not just this, GEO satellites can take up to 10-15 years to be placed in the orbit. “Then it remains there for 15 years, and by this time, the tech becomes slightly outdated,” he said.

Understandably, from a technical point of view, we need more satellites in the lower Earth orbit for better coverage and constellation management. 

As of now, Starlink is planning to launch 700-750 LEO satellites over India at an estimated cost of INR 8,000 Cr. ROI? 

Its subscription could cost between $20 (INR 1,700) and $25 (INR 2,100) per month. Starlink is also expected to work with Jio and Airtel to offer solutions to government clients. 

Is Satcom A Startup Game?

India’s spacetech boom began when the Centre decided to open the space sector to private players. Launched in 2022, IN-SPACe further gave structure to this movement. 

However, experts unanimously believe that satcom is not a startup game. While startups like GalaxEye and Pixxel are building satellites for imaging, few have emerged in the satcom manufacturing space. 

“Traditionally, satcom has been about capturing a mass market. Hence, it has to be driven by a large company because it needs larger capital and coverage. It is about capacity building more than capability building. It is about taking capabilities like 5G and the upcoming 6G to space, which requires capital. I don’t think startups would be able to do that,” GalaxEye’s Singh said.

As India startups prepare to build launchpads, rockets, and satellite systems, they may eventually become part of larger satcom projects. 

While startups may not lead in this line of work, IN-SPACe is exploring provisions to make sure that Indian players participate in the space race, undeterred.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]