Eutelsat OneWeb, a subsidiary of Eutelsat Group, is pushing India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to approve activation of a pair of crucial Earth station gateways for its Low Earry orbiting constellation to start services, according to India’s Economic Times.

Deployment is needed not only for India itelf but for other South Asian nations looking to tap into OneWeb’s broadband-by-satellite offerings.

The company, in a letter to DoT on January 29th, underlined the geopolitical benefits of this initiative as India can use its satellite infrastructure to provide critical services. The report added that the satellite company can also cater beyond the India domestic market and provide satcom services to more than 25 countries in the region.

The letter said that as well as internet access there were other advantags including inflight broadband services, sea communication for commercial ships at international waters, and disaster recovery applications.

“[…] Our two Indian feeder-link earth station gateways are technically capable of connecting our own LEO satellites (covering markets outside India) for the purpose of satcom services in over 25 countries in the South Asia region around India,” Eutelsat OneWeb wrote to the DoT.

OneWeb is understood to have potential – and some firm – deals in place with telecom providers in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand

Eutelsat OneWeb has already secured approvals from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to launch its commercial satellite broadband services in India. But approvals from the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) and the Dept. of Telecommunications are still awaited.

Eutelsat OneWeb, backed in part by local telco giant Bharti Enterprises, first expressed considerable enthusiasm for its OneWeb investment, and the benefits for India, back in September 2023.

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Categories: Articles, Satellite

Tags: Asia, eutelsat, OneWeb