Satellite internet provider Hughes Communications India, which has a tie-up with Bharti Airtel, has announced the commercial launch of India's first high-throughput satellite (HTS) broadband service --- a technological service that can help Apple introduce satellite connectivity in iPhone 14 models meant for India too. Apple has restricted the availability of the satellite connectivity feature in iPhone 14 to the US and Canada markets. Apple’s satellite connectivity will use the Globalstar network in the two countries. In India, it will have to partner with satellite internet providers like Hughes.
Hughes Communications India will use the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s Geosynchronous Satellite (GSAT)-11 and GSAT-29 satellites to offer satellite connectivity service.
"We already have satellite connectivity technology available in India. If Apple comes up for clearance on this then we are ready, but they have to tie up with a satellite operator," Suneel Kumar Niraniyan, DDG (Satellite), Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was quoted as saying in The Hindu. Satellite connectivity is an emergency feature used in the most remote locations where mobile connectivity is not available.
First such service in India
The high throughput satellite (HTS) broadband internet service, launched by Hughes Communications India in collaboration with the ISRO, is the first of its kind in India. The company had been testing its operation in North India for the last year. Hughes Communications India, a joint venture entity of US-based Hughes Network Systems and Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel, aims to deliver high-speed broadband across the country, including in the most remote areas that lie beyond the ken of terrestrial networks.
HCI provides satellite broadband across more than 200,000 business and government sites in India, supporting enterprises as well as strategic central and state government projects. It is said to be already providing assistance to the Indian Army, and paramilitary forces patrolling the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and other remote border outposts.
"This new broadband service will support the high-bandwidth requirements of government organisations, financial companies, cellular operators, mining and energy companies, among other businesses," Partho Banerjee, president and managing director, HCI, said.
The service supports applications such as Wi-Fi hotspots for community internet access; managed SD-WAN solutions; backhaul to extend mobile network reach; and satellite internet for small businesses.
The HTS broadband service from Hughes combines Ku-band capacity from ISRO's GSAT-11 and GSAT-29 satellites with Hughes Jupiter Platform ground technology. Bharti Airtel-backed low earth orbit satellite internet company OneWeb has a signed a 6-year agreement with HCI to distribute its internet services in the country. Airtel also has announced a joint venture with HCI to provide satellite broadband services in India.
