OneWeb has told the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it will go for local sourcing and development of key satellite communication equipment. As per OneWeb, this will include low-cost user-access terminals and gateway ground station infrastructure to build a domestic satellite devices-cum-components ecosystem in India.
According to industry sources, OneWeb has assured DoT secretary Anshu Prakash that it will support local satcom gear makers and is in talks with several homegrown players for indigenous sourcing.
Further, OneWeb has called on the government to speed up pending landing rights approvals to enable the company to quickly set up local ground stations and bring its satellite spectrum capacity in the Ka/Ku (28 Ghz/14 Ghz) bands to India for ensuring timely rollout of satellite broadband services by May 2022.
Meanwhile, OneWeb urged DoT to ring in a single-window clearance mechanism for issuing satellite service permits such as GMPCS/VSAT, and also pushed for a sharp cut in high regulatory costs for satcoms services, with an aim to make satellite broadband services more affordable and boost penetration.
