When Startlink had to refund users for their pre-orders, OneWeb, which is backed by Airtel in India and Hughes Communication, came into play.
Tata group entity Nelco also partnered up with Canada's Telesat.
And Amazon’s Kuiper is going to launch satellites in 2024.
But why are so many companies vying for India’s space spectrum?
See, India has a population of 1.4 billion out of which 40% do not have internet access because they are in rural and remote areas.
And traditional terrestrial networks are not easy to install.
Hence, India’s satellite broadband service is expected reach $1.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 36%.
Now, because India has so many contenders for its spectrum, the question arises
— who should get it?
Starlink and OneWeb wanted the government to assign licenses to companies, since spectrum is a natural resource that should be shared by companies.
But Jio wanted the government to auction the spectrum like it did with 4G & 5G
Finally, the govt brought in some reforms & firstly dedicated a sole agency IN-SPACe to authorize space activities for govt & private satellite communication cos.
Before this reform, you had to get approval from Department of Telecommunication & Department of Space, separately.
And a bill has been proposed to replace the 138-year-old Indian Telegraph Act that currently governs the telecommunication sector.
So now, both Jio Space and OneWeb have received their GMPCS license from the Department of Telecommunication in India.
And Starlink is 3rd in line to recieve the GMPCS license after complying with the norms set by the Indian Government.
Jio and Airtel have even started testing their satellite internet services in the country under the beta phase.
In fact, JioSpace Fiber has been launched and is available in four of India's most remote locations including
- Gir, Gujarat
- Korba, Chhattisgarh
- Nabarangpur, Odisha
- ONGC-Jorhat, Assam
You might think that satellite-based internet service providers are new.
But HughesNet has been providing signal coverage from 22,000 miles above the Earth since 1996.
Starlink just improvised on it by using thousands of small satellites and providing global coverage.
The new Starlink Satellites even have laser communication elements to transmit signals between satellites at the speed of light, reducing dependency on ground stations.
Starlink also has the advantage of being part of SpaceX.
In addition to launching Starlink satellites, it also conducts regular partner launches.
Other satellite internet providers may not be able to schedule regular satellite launches due to the high-cost factors involved.
SpaceX aims to launch about 40,000 satellites in the near future, ensuring global and remote satellite coverage with reduced service outages.
Elon Musk is known for creating interlinked products.
A big need for self-driving cars is high-speed internet.
T.me/AlliesFin
And Starlink in India solves that, so having spectrum-based internet might even lead to self-driving cars in India.
By: via Telegram.me/AlliesFin #StockMarket #Bharat
