Global satellite operators are competing for India's $2.3 billion satellite communications market, which is expected to grow nearly tenfold in three years to become one of the world's largest markets.
Several international operators, including Luxembourg's Intelsat, the United Kingdom's Inmarsat, Singapore Telecom, Korea's KT SAT, Thailand's IPSTAR, and Indonesia's PT Telekomunikasi, are increasing satellite capacity, according to reports.
Key Highlights
- Global satcom giants like Intelsat and Inmarsat are entering India’s $2.3 bn satcom market amid huge growth.
- India’s satcom market is projected to expand nearly tenfold in three years, drawing intense foreign interest.
These operators intend to resell their capacity to major satellite communication companies, which aim to provide broadband-from-space services to millions of Indian consumers.Although not all of these companies are direct competitors, these reselling agreements could help satellite communication firms compete with the world's leading satcom operator, Starlink, which is owned by Elon Musk.
Currently, Starlink, Reliance Jio-SES JV, and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb have received necessary approvals for Indian satcom services, while Amazon's Kuiper and Apple partner Globalstar have applied for permits.
According to KPMG, the emerging Indian satellite communications market is expected to reach $20 billion by 2028, driven by the introduction of direct-to-cell communications services. Direct-to-cell technology allows satellite signals to reach mobile phones directly.
Initial collaborations are underway
According to regulatory documents, Tata Group's Nelco has included the Koreasat-7 satellite for Ku-band operations in its reselling partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, which was announced on Monday. This satellite is operated by KT SAT, a subsidiary of KT Corp, South Korea's largest telecom provider.
"Nelco uses multiple GEO satellites -- Indian as well as foreign -- to offer satcom services in India, said PJ Nath, managing director and chief executive officer of Nelco, as quoted by ET. "The KT-Sat is one of the satellites on which it has acquired capacity, as approved by IN-SPACe."
Nath discussed Nelco's plans for multi-orbit satellite communications. "While it has access to a large number of GEO satellite capacities, the OneWeb partnership will provide LEO satellite capacity. The satcom services, whether GEO or LEO satellite-based, or a combination of both, will be determined by the specific use cases and application requirements," Nath added.
Intelsat, which was recently acquired by Luxembourg-based SES, has added Intelsat 36, 17, 20, and 39 satellites for C band operations. Despite its partnership with Jio Platforms, SES is bolstering its independent position through its Indian division, according to company sources.
Viasat, a US-based company that acquired British firm Inmarsat in 2023, has recently added Inmarsat satellites to its Indian operations. "We will make a significant impact by using advanced satellite technology to help connect the most remote and hard-to-reach regions in partnership with top technology and manufacturing companies in India," said Gautam Sharma, managing director of Viasat India, as quoted by ET.
Also Read: Starlink Capped at 2 Mn Users in India: 200 Mbps at Rs 3,000/Month
Viasat has been serving India's defence, civil, and commercial sectors for nearly two decades, with engineering centres in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, in December, IPSTAR stated, "Thaicom's satellite services will focus on delivering broadband satellite solutions to improve India's digital infrastructure, targeting not only rural markets but also underserved areas with connectivity challenges."
These collaborations coincide with increased activity in India's satellite communication sector. Space-based broadband services are expected to begin this year, pending government spectrum allocation.
According to Jefferies research, Starlink could initially attract 180,000 Indian subscribers before growing to 5.7 million by 2030. Starlink currently has 5 million subscribers spread across 94 countries, the majority of whom live in the United States.
India is the largest territory where commercial satellite services are awaiting deployment, as Russia and China limit foreign satcom operations. As a result, satellite communications providers must significantly increase capacity to ensure nationwide coverage and reliable network speeds.
