Viasat in talks with Indian startups to build mini geostationary satellites

Miniaturised GEO satellites could reshape connectivity in India and attract demand from over 20 countries

In what could kick off a price war, California-headquartered satellite giant Viasat, Inc is in talks with Indian startups to jointly manufacture miniaturised geostationary (GEO) satellites in India. The goal: enable users to buy broadband bandwidth at a lower price than what low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite players currently offer domestically and globally. Globally, companies like Starlink, Eutelsat, OneWeb, and Telesat operate on LEO constellations.

 

While GEO satellites orbit over 35,786 kilometres (km) above the equator, LEO satellites circle between 500 km and 2,000 km above Earth’s surface.

 

The key advantage of small GEO satellites is their targeted coverage. Unlike a typical GEO satellite, which spans nearly a third of the planet, a mini GEO focuses on a specific region.

 

Gautam Sharma, managing director of Viasat India, says: “Today, if I buy capacity per megahertz (MHz) per month, it costs three-digit dollars. Our aim is to be cheaper, not only compared to normal GEO satellite prices but also against LEO operators. We are looking to reduce the price to two-digit dollars per MHz per month. Plus, it’s a more flexible satellite.”

 

Sharma says these miniaturised satellites will have a payload capacity of 175 gigabits per second, usable for broadband connectivity in areas such as Northeast India and Jammu & Kashmir. “India has a billion connected people, but 400 million remain offline. That’s a huge market,” he observes.

 

On the collaboration model, Sharma says Viasat will supply the satellite payloads, leveraging its expertise. Some subsystems can be manufactured in India, and Indian launch vehicles will handle deployment. The likely structure will be a joint venture. Viasat is in the final stages of designing these miniature GEOs, which will have a 15-year shelf life.

 

Sharma spotlights the global potential. “Every country wants sovereign satellites and prefers not to depend on foreign ones. That creates a huge market for us. We’ve had requests from over 20 countries, including several in Africa, for miniature GEOs. This opens export potential from India,” he says.

 

Viasat already provides in-flight communication services in India for over 100 business jets via its gateway in Ghaziabad in partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL). Talks are ongoing with Air India, Sharma adds.

 

The company is also deepening its collaboration with state-owned BSNL in the emerging direct-to-device (D2D) services sector. D2D technology allows communication directly to mobile phones via satellite.

 

Sharma says: “We’re targeting a commercial launch by the end of this year or early next year to roll out phase one of the D2D plan, initially offering emergency messaging services.”

 

The technology was demonstrated at last year’s Indian Mobile Congress. While an increasing number of phones (for example, Google Pixel) can use the L-band spectrum (licensed to BSNL), users can also enable connectivity via a small plug-in device costing ₹2,000-3,000.

 

While Viasat will work closely with BSNL, Sharma says they are open to exploring partnerships with other telecommunications operators.

 

In the second phase of the collaboration, Viasat has announced a tieup with Space42, a United Arab Emirates-based spacetech company, to offer D2D services globally. The network, combining terrestrial network scale with satellite efficiency, is expected to be operational in two to two and a half years and will be accessible to BSNL.

 

Viasat India orbit

 

·      Partnering Indian startups to build mini GEO satellites offering lower bandwidth prices than competitors

 

·     Targeting India’s 400 million unconnected people, especially in Northeast India and Jammu & Kashmir

 

·     Planning to launch emergency messaging services via satellite broadband on mobile phones by year-end