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    Global firms say new DoT rules will ease delivery of satcom-based services

    Synopsis

    The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical wing of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has recently removed technical barriers that inhibited satellite service speeds, antenna sizes and usage of spectrum bands, paving the way for optimal deployment of new age satcom technologies.

    mobileAgencies
    Easing of satellite interface standards is also set to complement DoT’s likely decision to allow VSAT or `very small aperture terminal-based’ satcom service providers to offer satellite backhaul connectivity to telcos that will ensure unhindered mobile broadband coverage to consumers living in rural and far flung regions.
    Satellite and global tech companies have backed the recent easing of interface standards by the government, saying they will remove a host of artificial barriers to speeds and bandwidth usage and enable delivery of more affordable satellite-based broadband and broadcasting services in India.

    The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical wing of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has recently removed technical barriers that inhibited satellite service speeds, antenna sizes and usage of spectrum bands, paving the way for optimal deployment of new age satcom technologies. The new rules will also enable deployment of smaller-sized antennae systems that will reduce a satcom operator’s space, power and cost elements, and in turn, make satellite broadband services more efficient and affordable.

    “The new, modernised specifications released by the government will remove erstwhile restrictions which inhibited the use of modern satcom technologies, and help deliver significant benefits to end-consumers by way of high capacity, high-speed broadband, and better quality services,” T V Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum, said in a media statement Wednesday. The forum represents global satellite biggies such as Hughes Networks, Bharti-backed OneWeb, Amazon and global tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Qualcomm.

    The latest developments come at a time when the likes of Bharti-backed OneWeb and Elon Musk’s SpaceX Technologies are readying to launch high speed internet services in India next year leveraging their respective low earth orbit (LEO) global satellite constellations.

    Under the new rules, DoT’s technical wing has allowed deployment of satellite broadband and broadcasting services on the high-capacity Ka band besides the traditional C & Ku bands, the BIF added.

    Easing of satellite interface standards is also set to complement DoT’s likely decision to allow VSAT or `very small aperture terminal-based’ satcom service providers to offer satellite backhaul connectivity to telcos that will ensure unhindered mobile broadband coverage to consumers living in rural and far flung regions.

    In this context, BIF said the new TEC standards will also encourage using satellite resources for provisioning high capacity cellular/Wi-Fi backhaul to telcos in all locations, which is particularly relevant as telcos gear up to roll out 5G networks in both urban and rural areas.

    Once approved, telcos such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel will be able to use satellite backhaul solutions from VSAT operators to provide 4G/5G services and WiFi-based fast broadband in rural regions where there aren’t enough mobile towers or terrestrial microwave links and fibre networks.


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