Govt to invest Rs 900 crore to set up national satcom monitoring facility

The government had earmarked around Rs 900 crore for setting up a national satcom monitoring facility to safeguard the country's data resources and spectrum assets, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday.

During a session on satellite communication at India Mobile Congress, the minister said the Indian Satcom market, encompassing telecom and broadcasting, was valued at close to $4.3 billion last year, and it was expected to triple to around $14.8 billion by 2033.

“This remarkable trajectory is more than a matter of economics. It is destiny unfolding numbers. To power this vision, we are investing over Rs 900 crores in a national Satcom monitoring facility, an advanced centre that will safeguard India's all data resources, spectrum assets and ensure that all our gateways across the world serve all India at the same time," Scindia said.

The government has given licences to three private constellations — Eutelsat Oneweb, Jio SGS and Elon Musk-led Starlink to satellite broadband services in the country. All the players are awaiting spectrum allocation from the government to roll out their services.

The minister said that Indian telecom players had connected 99.9 per cent of India's population with 5G connectivity with deployment of close to about 4.8 lakh towers across the nation.

"Now, as we step into the frontier of satellite communication, I say this with all conviction, India will not only deliver the fastest satellite rollout in the world, but will also redefine what Satcom means for humanity. We've done it before with 5G, the fastest rollout in the world in 20 months, and I promise we will do it again," Scindia said.