It won't be long before you start seeing satellite broadband providers in India to render broadband satellite services in your area.
Two large companies, OneWeb, owned by Bharti, and Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, are planning to enter the Indian landscape with satellite broadband services next year.It won't be long before you start seeing broadband satellite services provided in your area.
But you may not get the kind of attention and response that landline broadband services receive today. The reason is because of its price. In India, 4G penetration level has already reached 63% and 5G is on the way.
Satellite broadband price in India
Satellite Internet is expected to be much more expensive than mobile calling and data plans along with fixed line broadband connections. As Indians are used to paying the cheapest 4G data rates in the world, they won't be too willing to pay for satellite broadband if their plans are expensive.
Satellite broadband internet will face difficulties to grow in India
Analysts believe it is not just the high price, but other additional factors that could pose a problem for satellite broadband in India.
First, there are regulatory risks as they provide satellite internet services; The final rules have yet to come from the government. This can cause delays in starting the service.
BNP Paribas, senior telecommunications analyst Kunal Vora, said satellite broadband will remain a "niche offering" in the medium term. It will not be a threat or a problem for the country's telecom operators for the foreseeable future.
As mobile internet is the cheapest in India globally, people will continue to buy cheap mobile plans instead of satellite broadband plans, which are expected to be much more expensive.
Satellite broadband will help people traveling or establishing business in rural or dark connectivity areas of India, where 4G network is absent or not good enough to get a stable internet connection.
Starlink already offers Indians the opportunity to pre-book a satellite internet connection kit by paying $99 upfront. The company said it will begin providing internet coverage in India by 2022.
