While the telecom industry in India seems to be reduced to a handful of players, the wired broadband industry in India has proliferated in recent times thanks to the rapid adoption of FTTH technology by the industry stakeholders, new ISPs, and the consumers alike. However, while this happens in the background, there is an entirely new segment of broadband business that is brewing and that happens to be satellite communication. As per a new press release by ICRA, satellite communication is going to be the next revolution in the broadband space in India. The rating agency in its release has remarked that if the operating environment eases, the satellite communication user base is expected to rise to around 1.5 to 2 million by 2025, generating a revenue of around Rs 5,000-6,000 crore annually.
Many New Players Stepping in the Field
Growth in India Slow Due to Policy Uncertainties
ICRA also noted that adoption in India is currently slow, as in the United States, these services have 4.5 million subscribers and European Union has more than 2.1 million subscribers, the penetration in India is only restricted to 0.3 million enterprise subscribers. The reason for this limitation is the restrictive policies to launch satellites in space, and also restrictions on last-mile connectivity through satellite to retail subscribers. If the policy environment eases, then the satellite communication market would be able to reach its full potential, Majumdar said.
