While India has made huge strides in mobile and fibre deployment, vast areas such as remote villages, mountainous regions, islands and border zones remain underserved due to terrain and economic limitations. Satellite communications (satcom) easily bridges connectivity gaps that traditional networks struggle to overcome. It can beam high speed internet and essential digital services directly from space, extending the reach of India’s digital revolution to places where cables and towers are impractical or prohibitively expensive. Beyond rural and remote connectivity, a particularly strategic use case is in-building connectivity via satcom, which ensures resilient, uninterrupted internet access inside buildings, corporate campuses and critical infrastructure where terrestrial signals may falter or are unavailable. This capability ensures continuous digital services essential for modern enterprises and public institutions, enhancing both productivity and service reliability.
That said, the past two years have been pivotal for India’s satcom industry, with several regulatory and commercial breakthroughs. In 2023, under the provisions of the newly enacted Telecommunications Act, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated reforms to streamline satellite spectrum allocation, enabling auction‑free administrative assignments in certain bands, a change that was widely welcomed by industry stakeholders. Foreign satellite operators such as Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have also advanced their India plans. Recently, Starlink received approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre and DoT to operate its satellite constellation above India, becoming the third company after Eutelsat-OneWeb and the Jio-SES consortium to offer commercial satcom services in the country. Similarly, Amazon’s Project Kuiper is actively pursuing regulatory approvals and has applied for the GMPCS licence and landing rights.
These advancements have laid the groundwork for a more structured and technologically advanced satcom ecosystem, where developments in geotagged infrastructure, gateway networks, ground stations and spectrum use will define how quickly and effectively services scale across the country.
A look at this infrastructure…
Geotagged telecom infrastructure
At its core, geotagging involves attaching precise latitude and longitude coordinates to physical telecom assets such as mobile towers, fibre optic junctions, small cells, satcom ground stations and gateway hubs. This process creates a digital, map-based register of the entire national telecom landscape, transforming what was once a fragmented, manually maintained inventory into a real-time, interactive digital asset library.
In practice, the benefits are substantial. During natural disasters, real-time geotagged data allows rapid assessment of network outages and guides targeted restoration efforts, often saving crucial hours in crisis response. For network builders, these digital maps streamline site acquisitions, optimise network planning (by overlaying demographic, economic and environmental data), and minimise costly overlaps or regulatory bottlenecks. They also support the integration of advanced infrastructure such as satcom gateways and 5G small cells by identifying ideal deployment zones that maximise coverage and minimise interference. Geotagging enhances compliance and transparency. For instance, regulators can remotely audit whether service providers adhere to universal service obligations, spectrum norms and infrastructure-sharing guidelines, thereby strengthening industry accountability.
India has begun a phased geotagging programme for telecom infrastructure, starting with BSNL and expanding to private operators. The country’s ongoing push to geotag key telecom infrastructure by 2027 reflects DoT’s commitment to standardise asset tracking and integration. This initiative, backed by a collaboration among DoT, other ministries and state governments, is targeted to improve coordination, especially in disaster response and smart city development.
Satcom gateway infrastructure
Satcom gateway infrastructure forms a critical element in the satcom ecosystem, serving as the pivotal link that connects satellites in orbit with terrestrial networks on the ground. These gateways are complex facilities equipped with large antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, teleport stations and operations centres. Their primary role is to transmit and receive high-capacity data signals between satellites and the fibre or wireless networks on earth, enabling seamless, high speed communication for applications ranging from broadband internet to government and enterprise services.
By linking orbiting satellites with the terrestrial network, gateways also serve as a key point for enforcing national security, data localisation and lawful interception policies. The infrastructure of gateways includes cutting-edge technologies to handle multiple satellite orbits such as geostationary orbit (GSO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO). This ensures both interoperability and scalability. Modern gateways support high-throughput satcom across the broadly accepted frequency ranges of the Ku-band (approximately 12-18 GHz) and the Ka-band (approximately 26.5-40 GHz).
One notable development in India’s satellite infrastructure is Viasat’s delivery and installation of 22 Ka-band gateway antennas. These 9.1 metre antennas, built by Viasat, were deployed over a 30-month period and integrated with ISRO for use across the GSAT-11, GSAT-20 and GSAT-29 satellites. Meanwhile the DoT recently issued a circular outlining enhanced security measures for global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS). As part of these measures, satcom gateways in India must be located within the country, and their monitoring and control functions must be conducted on shore to ensure data sovereignty. This approach will enable real-time surveillance, enforcement of lawful interception, and compliance with data localisation norms.
Ground infrastructure
Ground infrastructure comprises all the terrestrial facilities and equipment required to support, manage and interface with satellites in orbit. This segment includes ground stations, telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) systems, mission control centres, data processing hubs, and user terminals. A core element is the network of ground stations equipped with large antennas and sophisticated RF equipment to track and communicate with satellites across GEO, MEO and LEO orbits. These stations handle signal reception, transmission and satellite control, while TT&C systems monitor satellite health and operational control. Modern ground infrastructure is built for interoperability and scalability to manage multiple satellite constellations effectively, a necessity as LEO and MEO broadband networks expand. Integration with terrestrial and cloud infrastructure further enhances service delivery via seamless data routing and processing.
In line with India’s goal to strengthen domestic satellite infrastructure, NSIL is rolling out a nationwide satellite ground station network. As part of the plan, around 25 dual-band and tri-band antennas will be deployed across the country to support telemetry, tracking, command (TTC), and satellite data downloading. The roll-out, open to private sector participation, aligns with DoT’s GMPCS security guidelines, which mandate in-country gateway placement, integration of user terminals with the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, phased indigenisation of ground equipment and strict data localisation to safeguard national security.
Ku-band and Ka-band spectrum
The Ku- and Ka- bands are critical frequency ranges in satcom, each with distinct strengths and challenges. The Ku-band operates in the 12-18 GHz frequency range and is widely used for services such as DTH TV, VSAT networks, and enterprise connectivity. It facilitates the installation of smaller, cost-effective ground antennas, although it can suffer from rain fade and atmospheric interference. Meanwhile, the Ka-band, operating in the 26.5-40 GHz frequency range, offers wider bandwidth, making it ideal for high-throughput satellite (HTS) services such as broadband internet, in-flight Wi-Fi and enterprise connectivity. Its higher frequency allows tighter spot beams and better spectrum reuse, but makes it more vulnerable to weather-related signal degradation.
In parallel, India’s satcom spectrum is governed by the Telecommunications Act, 2023, with detailed implementation guided by the TRAI’s recommendations on satellite-based communication services. TRAI has proposed spectrum assignments across the Ku-, Ka-, Q/V-, L-, and S- bands for a five-year term (extendable by up to two years). This is paired with a fee model of 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue plus supplementary charges in urban areas, to balance affordability and access. These policy instruments facilitate shared, non-exclusive assignments in line with ITU-R norms, aiming to promote efficient use and deter spectrum concentration. Complementing the spectrum rules, DoT’s GMPCS security guidelines mandate that all satcom gateways be located within India. These guidelines support lawful interception, and ensure data sovereignty through domestic routing and storage.
In-building connectivity and satcom
As India’s satcom ecosystem expands, the deployment of this infrastructure can significantly enhance in-building connectivity. Geotagged infrastructure ensures precise site selection for indoor satellite terminals, reducing interference and optimising signal paths. High-capacity gateways operating in the Ku- and Ka- bands, combined with a ground station network, provide the necessary backhaul for indoor systems, whether via Wi-Fi, private LTE, or 5G. This integration allows enterprises, critical facilities and government sites to maintain resilient and uninterrupted connectivity, even in areas where terrestrial signals may falter, such as deep industrial complexes, high-rise basements, or remote command centres. By linking IBS set-ups with satcom backhaul, organisations can deliver voice, video, IoT and mission-critical data reliably, meeting both operational and compliance demands. In this way, the physical and regulatory satcom infrastructure being built across India is extending rural and remote reach as well as laying the foundation for secure, always-on indoor connectivity in the most challenging environments.
In sum
Traditionally reliant on fibre and DAS, IBS architectures are increasingly incorporating satellite links where terrestrial backhaul is unreliable. Large industrial sites, airports and disaster-prone regions stand to benefit the most, especially with portable indoor satcom units offering rapid restoration when ground networks fail. The transition to high-throughput Ku- and Ka-band satellites will further enhance feasibility by delivering the bandwidth needed for enterprise-grade applications. Ensuring policy alignment across telecom and satellite licensing regimes will be essential to support the effective use of frequencies, and maintain deployment standards that facilitate both connectivity and strategic interests. Hybrid models – where satellite serves as either primary or backup backhaul – are likely to become a defining feature of resilient digital infrastructure, ensuring that connected buildings remain operational, regardless of geographic location or outage conditions.
