Satellite Broadband
for
Digital India
7th June 2016
Role of Satellite in Digital India
Satellite Role
Satellite has a very relevant
role in all of the pillars and
has proved that time and
again in the past
A typical Satellite Site – Digital India
Internet
Pillar 2 – Universal Mobile Access
Pillar 1 – GP
Pillar 3 – CSCs
Availability of Satellite - Today
Sno.
Operator
Satellite
Orb Slot
Available BW in MHz
Available BW in 36
Mhz Transponders
1
Asiasat
AS-5 SA Beam
105.5 deg
378
10
2
Asiasat
AS-5 Steerable Beam
105.5 deg
310
8
3
Asiasat
AS-8 India Beam
105.5 deg
864
24
4
Eutelsat
E-70B
70.5 deg
270
7
5
Intelsat
IS-906
64 deg
134
4
8
Intelsat
IS-10
47.5 deg
144
4
7
Intelsat
IS-7
60 deg
216
6
8
SES
SES-9
108 deg
1152
32
9
Thaicom
IP Star ( Spot Beams)
119.6 deg
2405
67
10
Eutelsat
W2M
48 deg
216
6
11
APT Satellite
Apstar 7C
98.2 deg
252
12
Chinasat
Chinasat 11
98.2 deg
108
3
13
RSCC
AM-7 (Q1 2015 launch)
40 deg
432
12
7
Availability of Satellite - Future
ISRO HTS >90 Gbps
Pool in capacity
from all satellites
over India and
through VSAT
service providers
ISRO – GSAT-11
Intelsat – EPIC 33e
SES – 12
Total capacity of >20 Gbps
2020 &
Beyond
2019
$800/MHz/Month
2018
$1000/MHz/Month
2017
$1300/MHz/Month
2016
$2500/MHz/Month
Adequate Capacity
exists and Prices are
set to fall when HTS
arrives
Satellite Addressable Sites – Digital India
Region
States
North-East
7 Sister States & Sikkim
Maoist Affected 26 Districts in 8 States
J&K, Jharkhand,
Hilly States
Uttarakhand
Islands
A&N, Lakshadweep
Other States
Remote areas in mainland
%
Estimated
Total feasible VSAT
GPs
by Fibre Sites
11960
25%
8970
7433
0
7433
14572
25%
79
0
211336
95%
Total VSAT Sites
10929
79
10567
37,978
Satellite Can also play significant role beyond these sites in quick rollout before Dec 2016 deadline
where Fiber laying will take time
Satellite GP capacity sizing
Site
Plan
GB/Mont
Bandwidth
Type
h
Speed
A
1 Mbps
2 GB
B
2 Mbps
4 GB
C
4 Mbps
8 GB
D
8 Mbps
10 GB

Based on requirement and past experience, four
suggested bandwidth options

These can be used in mix and match based on Gram
Panchayats requirement

The cap of GB/month is it limit the connectivity to
productive usage. For genuine excess usage, BW can
be diverted from common pool.

Considering Plan C as an average, ONE transponder
can connect about 1000 Gram Panchayats

About 40 Transponders would be required to cover
the Gram Panchayats projected through VSAT
Satellite is a quick rollout option for Digital India
The cost of Satellite and the availability support the
Government’s need
Satellite GP connectivity costing

Recurring bandwidth per year for Plan-C : 3.2Lakh

Capex for VSAT @ 50,000

Total TCO per GP for 3 years : 3.72Lakh

For 40,000 GP , 1500Cr INR is required, which will
reduce to half once network migrates to HTS
PLAN
Type
Per
Site GB
/ Price
Speed
Month Month
/ Price
Annum
/
A
1 Mbps
2GB
2,238
26,856
80,568
B
2 Mbps
4GB
4,475
53,700
161,100
C
4 Mbps
8GB
8,950
107,400
322,200
D
8 Mbps
10GB
11,188
134,256
402,768
3 YR TCO
Suggested Policy Changes to adopt
Satellite for Digital India

Satellite industry should play a key role in this plan

Satellite industry should be given access to the 10 Gbps capacity available over the
country in a un-restricted manner
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Rationalise spectrum charges for use of satellite in the NLD license
◦
◦

De-link the technical short-listing process and the commercial procurement
Deal with issues like compatibility to INSAT/GSAT system, security issues etc. at the technical short-listing
stage
Make the technical short-listing time-bound
Leave it to the supplier and the buyer for commercial negotiations – Do not canalise
If domestic self sufficiency and protection is the ultimate goal achieve it through effective licensing process
that necessitates service providers to re-apply for technical clearances to DoS/DoT for revalidation
In the interim use of satellites like IPStar by all service providers
Why is it restricted to only BSNL?
Formula based charging to revenue share based charging (currently 300 times that of the commercial VSAT
charges)
Allows NLD to be a provider of satellite backhaul to be exploited by any access provider using any last mile
Allow provision of services to all forms of mobility – Only satellite can extend
Digital India to these platforms
◦
Trains, Ships, Aircraft, buses etc. etc.
Summary
•
•
•
Satellite is very cost-effective and quick in terms of roll-out for the
remote GPs
Adequate Satellite Capacity is available over India to support more
than 35,000 GPs
Satellite cost is affordable and can be further lowered by small
policy changes
Thank You