Satellite Internet: India took an important step during the recent earthquake in Myanmar. During this time, India used satellite based internet for the first time in real time. Under ‘Operation Brahma’, a special satellite terminal was installed in the Mandle area of Myanmar, which could be directly contacted by the base located in New Delhi. This effort is considered a major achievement in the technical field for India.
Onweeb did big work
According to NDTV, India immediately started relief work after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand on March 28. The Indian Army established connectivity within just 24 hours using the Low Earth Orbit (Leo) services of Eultsat Onweeb and made an association with a field hospital. Eultsat Onweeb’s Asia Pacific Regional Director Nishtha Kapoor described this experience as a “pleasant experience”.
Onweeb received permission in 2023
Many companies are trying for satellite internet market in India, including Reliance’s Jio, Alan Musk’s Starlink and Eutelsat Onweeb. Onweeb was allowed to test technology in India in November 2023 and was later approved to introduce commercial services from IN-Space. The Indian space agency ISRO also successfully launched 72 satellites of ONEWEB from its GSLV-MK3 (Bahubali) rocket.
Digital India’s dream will come true
Onweeb has completed all the necessary preparations to start its services in India. The company has taken initial approval to set up two gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. According to Nishtha Kapoor, “Onweeb can give connectivity in every corner of India. Service will start across the country as soon as the spectrum allocation is received.” However, Onweeb is mainly Business-to-Business (B2B) communication network, while Starlink provides business-to-customer (B2C) services.
The satellite has recently taken up an interesting twist in the Internet market, when Jio platforms and Airtel announced a partnership with Starlink. Starlink already has 7,000 small satellites in the classroom and 5,000 more will be added soon. Experts believe that satellite internet technology can play an important role in spreading digital connectivity in remote areas of India and can help in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Digital India.
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