"Starlink India launch delayed despite licences over security and gateway concerns"
GMPCS
Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite — the licence category for satellite-based telecom services in India.
IN-SPACe
Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre — the nodal body that authorises satellite constellations and promotes private space activity.
Satellite communication has been part of India's telecom landscape since the INSAT series of geostationary satellites, which provided broadcast and weather services from the 1980s onward. However, the emergence of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations has fundamentally changed the sector. Unlike traditional geostationary satellites parked at 36,000 km altitude, LEO satellites orbit at 500–600 km, offering significantly lower latency and the ability to serve remote areas with broadband-grade speeds.
The regulatory architecture for satellite communication in India spans multiple agencies. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issues operator licences. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), established under the Indian Space Policy 2023, authorises satellite constellations and promotes private sector participation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) advises on spectrum and service conditions. This multi-agency structure reflects the dual nature of satcom: it is simultaneously a telecom service and a space activity.
India's satcom market has attracted global operators because of its large underserved rural population. More than 600 million Indians live in areas where terrestrial broadband, cable, fibre, or digital subscriber line, is either unavailable or unreliable. Satellite broadband is seen as the most cost-effective way to bridge this gap without laying physical infrastructure across difficult terrain.
Satellite communication services work by routing data signals between user terminals on the ground and satellites in orbit. For LEO constellations, hundreds or thousands of satellites work together to provide continuous coverage. The Starlink Gen1 Constellation consists of 4,408 satellites orbiting at altitudes between 540–570 km, with a throughput capacity of approximately 600 Gbps over India. Globally, Starlink operates around 7,000 satellites, making it the world's largest satellite constellation.
A critical infrastructure element is the Satellite Earth Station Gateway. This is a ground facility, physically located within a country's territory, that connects the satellite constellation to the domestic terrestrial telecom network. All traffic originating or terminating in India must pass through these Indian gateways. This requirement is not merely technical; it is the primary mechanism through which the government retains lawful intercept capability, enforces blocking orders, and prevents data from being routed through foreign jurisdictions without oversight. …
Which of the following is/are the aim/aims of "Digital India" Plan of the Government of India ?
1.Formation of India's own Internet companies like China did.
2.Establish a policy framework to encourage overseas multinational corporations that collect Big Data to build their large data centres within our national geographical boundaries.
3.Connect many of our villages to the Internet and bring Wi-Fi to many of our schools, public places and major tourist centres.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Smart India Hackathon 2017?
1.It is a centrally sponsored scheme for developing every city of our country into Smart Cities in a decade.
2.It is an initiative to identify new digital technology innovations for solving the many problems faced by our country.
3.It is a programme aimed at making all the financial transactions in our country completely digital in a decade.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
With reference to satellite communication (satcom) regulation in India, consider the following statements:
1.The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issues operator licences to satcom companies.
2.IN-SPACe grants authorisation for satellite constellations operating over Indian territory.
3.TRAI is the sole authority responsible for both licensing and spectrum allocation for satcom services.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following are mandated under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) guidelines for satellite communication companies operating in India?
1.Indigenisation of at least 20% of the ground segment within five years of commercial launch.
2.Integration of NavIC-based positioning systems in user terminals by 2029.
3.Establishment of data centres within Indian geographical boundaries.
4.Routing all Indian user traffic exclusively through gateways located outside India for redundancy.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following pairs:
Satcom Operator — Ownership/Affiliation
1.Eutelsat OneWeb — Bharti Group
2.Jio Satellite Communications Ltd — Wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms
3.Starlink — Amazon
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Assertion (A): Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations offer lower latency than traditional geostationary satellites.
Reason (R): LEO satellites orbit at altitudes of approximately 500–600 km, significantly closer to Earth than geostationary satellites at 36,000 km.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above Assertion and Reason?
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