Satellite internet firms head to India to close digital divide

Several satellite firms, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Amazon's Project Kuiper and Bharti Airtel and the British Government's OneWeb, have made a beeline for the Indian market. A key reason is that 50 percent of India's vast population of around 1.3. billion is yet to be connected, mainly because of the high cost of setting up a network in rural areas with low returns spread over a long time. Varied terrain adds to the challenge of setting up networks in rural areas, but satellite is being touted as one of the technologies that can provide connectivity in remote and difficult-to-reach areas. Another area of opportunity is providing backhaul connectivity via satellite to connect the mobile towers, as only 30 percent of mobile towers in India are fiberized. However, fiber is required for 5G services, which are likely to be launched in the coming year. "Satellite backhaul in many cases is the most viable option for quick deployment and an accelerated go-to-market strategy for the terrestrial cellular players," said Anil Prakash, Director General of the Satcom Industry Association. Yet providing satellite services in emerging markets like India does not come without its challenges. such as high costs for developing countries, availability of devices, and delays caused by regulatory issues.