It is not just 5G that is going to be the game-changer, but also the satellite communication (satcom) companies that will offer satellite broadband to people in India. Both are just a few months away from commercial launch. 5G will be based on networks deployed using fiber, tower and radio infrastructure. But satcom will not be the traditional terrestrial network. The thing with terrestrial networks is that they are limited in reach. But the satellite broadband networks don’t have any such limitations.
Satellite Broadband to Help People in Rural Areas
Government can partner up with the satcom companies to offer subsidies so that people living in the rural areas who can’t get internet connectivity from terrestrial network operators can get it from the satcom companies at an affordable rate. This would remove the digital divide that exists in India and further help the government in making a digital India. There are children in rural areas who can’t get access to the internet, and thus their exposure to worldly things is much less limited than the children living in urban cities. Further, with the help of satellite broadband, a fresh business ecosystem can be built in rural areas. But satcom isn’t just about this. It can also help terrestrial network operators in rural areas by providing backhaul services and more. Bharti owned OneWeb is expected to come to India by mid-2022 with its commercial services. The company said that it will only work by partnering with a telecom operator and isn’t looking to offer commercial services directly to the consumers. Then there is SpaceX owned Starlink, which looks to offer direct services to the consumers. So different companies will have different strategies for the Indian market. But regardless of the strategy, it will help India grow in terms of connectivity reach and would bridge the digital divide that exists in the country. There are more use cases of satellite broadband that will be useful to India. But it will definitely take some time for the satcom ecosystem to develop in India as it will be a fresh entry for all the companies in this particular industry.
