Satellite communication is unlikely to threaten Indian telecom operators. High tariffs and limited capacity of satellite services are the reasons. Starlink's potential reach is capped at 2 million connections with limited speed. The government is ...
By ET Bureau | Updated:
Satellite communications will not emerge as a threat to incumbent telecom operators in India due to the former’s high tariffs and a limit on subscriber base and data speeds, said Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, minister of state for communications, on Monday.
"The maximum Starlink can offer across India, even if everybody wants a connection, is only 20 lakh connections with up to 200 Mbps maximum speed which is distributed across India…so there is no way satellite can provide any meaningful connectivity in India," Pemmasani said, referring to the Elon Musk-owned company.
This is primarily due to capacity limitations of the satellite service provider. The limited capacity, distributed across India, suggests that each district can only get around 50,000-40,000 connections, he said.
The minister's comments come even as Starlink secured necessary approvals from the government to start offering its services. The company has tied up with private telecom operators including Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to sell the 'Starlink kit' to customers.
Pemmansani said the upfront cost of using satellite services in India, as compared to terrestrial network services, is much higher, and will not lead to satellite eroding telcos’ subscription base.
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"You have to put an individual antenna, just like how you put an antenna dish for TV on the roof of your house, that typically costs Rs 30,000, and Rs 3,000 every month. So, for a village panchayat, which is a cost optimised entity, the upfront costs are very high," the minister said.
Satcom services are expected to target rural and remote areas where state-run BSNL currently has a significant presence.
Pemmasani said despite investing in deploying 4G sites, marking the company's highest-ever capex spending, BSNL will not raise tariffs as its focus remains on boosting market share.
"Each circle is being given individual targets in terms of increasing subscriber base," he said, adding BSNL has several legacy issues which are currently being resolved.
