BEYOND THE SKIES

THE NASCENT SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY COULD PROPEL THE NEXT BIG REVOLUTION IN THE TELECOM SPACE. WHERE DOES INDIA STAND?

- MANU KAUSHIK 

2% INDIA’S MARKET SHARE (AROUND $7 BILLION) IN THE GLOBAL SATELLITE INDUSTRY IN 2021

10% INDIA’S ESTIMATED MARKET SHARE (OVER $50 BILLION) IN THE GLOBAL SATELLITE INDUSTRY IN 2030

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT TWO YEARS from now, you will have another dish perched on your balcony or roof—just like the now-ubiquitous DTH dish. This new dish would provide broadband connectivity not just within your house, but also outside of it through the on-ground infrastructure that will be likely connected to satellites hovering 500 km above the Earth’s surface. Welcome to the future of internet and connectivity.

Satellite communication systems have been around for some time, but a lot has changed recently. In the past three years, eight policies directly and indirectly related to satellite communications (or satcom) have been announced. Two policies—Draft Spacecom Policy 2020 and National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018— are shaping the sector in a big way. “The government is enabling an environment through a slew of draft policies, which is spawning a new industry,” says Anil Prakash, Director General, Satcom Industry Association (SIA-India).