US space firms eye Indian skies for communication satellites

US space companies are knocking on the doors of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) seeking help to get the necessary clearances to operate their satellites in the Indian sky.

“Representatives of companies such as Hughes, Intelstat and ViaSat recently met a team of senior officials from the DIPP requesting the department to push their case with the Department of Space,” a government official told BusinessLine.

The companies are eyeing the country’s huge potential market for satellite communication given the growing demand from DTH pay-TV platforms and the rising telecommunication needs.

Hughes Network Services, the Maryland-based provider of broadband satellite networks and services, has been trying to operate its satellites in India for the last few years with no success.

Despite the BJP government’s stress on digital India and the new foreign direct investment rules allowing 100 per cent FDI in satellites establishment and operation, the Department of Space kept a decision on fast-tracking Hughe’s investment proposal hanging after examining it last year.

The company wanted to invest $500 million in building and operating a KA-Band satellite to cater exclusively to India. It also seeks to support the government’s Digital India programme with the objective is to cover rural India with high-speed Internet networks.

“The Department of Space, however, is hesitant after the Antrix-Devas episode where it was accused of giving spectrum to Devas, an Indian company based in Bangalore, at a throw-away price. It appears that the department does not want to take a decision on foreign companies in a hurry to avoid controversies,” the official said.

Interestingly, there are no foreign satellites in the Indian skies as yet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) enjoys near-monopoly in the area but it does not have the capacity to fulfil total commercial demands and often capacity on foreign satellites have to be leased to meet demand from the Indian industry.

The US companies, which met the DIPP as part of the US India Business Council (USIBC) team, want the DIPP to take up the matter with the DoS to convince it to move forward on Hughes proposal which would also set the stage for more US space companies coming into the Indian space.

“The DIPP has asked the USIBC to come back to it with a proper proposal on the kind of investments the space companies want to make in India and what are their expectations from the government. The matter will be taken forward from there,” the official added.

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