BSNL in Talks with SoftBank to Make Satellite-Based Internet Possible in India

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Softbank are in talks with each other about leasing out broadband bandwidth from OneWeb’s low earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites. This new development if takes place, is then going to revolutionise the telecom industry in India with low latency internet and voice services. To go ahead with the new plan, high ranked officials of BSNL made a presentation to SoftBank executives about the preparedness of telco to make use of the LEO satellites, said BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava. The presentation also included the telco’s plans about how they will strategically utilise the broadband bandwidth for a consumer as well as the enterprise application.

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It is noteworthy that OneWeb is not the only one responsible for setting up the Low Earth Orbit Satellites which are being talked about. Other companies like SoftBank, Airbus, Bharti Airtel, Virgin, Coca Cola, Hughes, Intelsat, Grupo Salinas, MDA and Qualcomm have also joined with the Greg Wyler led company to make this possible. SoftBank owns 40% stake in OneWeb. The satellites which will be launched by the group will orbit the earth at the height of approximately 150-200 kilometres from the surface.

As reported by ET, Anupam Shrivastava also shared his insights on the same saying “OneWeb is a newly conceived idea. SoftBank is coming up with 850 LEO satellites to cover every nook and corner of the earth with each satellite facing a land mass every time.”

When asked about the recent developments with BSNL, SoftBank officials declined from answering any questions. However, the Chairman of BSNL did not shy away from answering them and said that OneWeb is a disruptive technology but the plan which is being discussed will also require permission from the government and the regulators since such method of relaying internet services haven’t been implemented previously in India. He further added “If it succeeds, it has the potential to disrupt all telecom service providers worldwide. This technology will only need a gateway to pump bandwidth and distribute anywhere in the world.”