Page 85 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2025

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Starlink Nears Approval to Launch in India

Starlink will reportedly soon be granted regulator but questioned some security- Donald Trump. Back in early 2022, Starlink
approval by Indian authorities to introduce related requirements, which are under was ordered by the Indian government to
satellite broadband services, with the discussion. The Indian National Space refund deposits made by customers as
company submitting the required material Promotion and Authorisation Centre will the venture had not received a licence to
for final clearance. The Economic Times review Starlink’s application, the newspaper operate. SpaceX set up local subsidiary
stated the satellite broadband arm of Elon wrote. The news comes a week after India Starlink Satellite Communications in late
Musk’s SpaceX agreed to most conditions Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk 2021 to offer broadband service.
for securing a licence from the country’s during his visit to the US to see President

Kazakhstan Explores Satellite Systems to Enhance Internet Connectivity

Top global experts at the Digital Almaty ward eliminating the digital divide. Vassiliy proper disposal and deorbiting strategies,
forum discussed how non-geostationary Leonov, the deputy chairman of the Repub- increasing space debris could disrupt oper-
orbit (NGSO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) lican Center of Space Communications, ations and lead to collisions, turning Earth’s
satellite communication systems could said that beyond advancing the telecom in- orbits into chaos. Regarding regulation and
help bridge the digital divide, reported the dustry, these systems could expand access international cooperation, coordinating
Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development, to education, healthcare, and businesses orbital and frequency usage is becoming
Innovations and Aerospace Industry. NGSO even in the most remote regions. Howev- increasingly complex amidst intensifying
systems can significantly increase the er, large-scale deployment of LEO systems competition between key players, includ-
availability of communications in remote presents challenges, including frequency ing SpaceX, Spacesail, Amazon Kuiper, and
areas by providing low-latency, high-speed regulation, orbital safety, and competition Chinese and European projects. “We must
internet, which makes them indispensable with traditional geostationary orbit (GSO) acknowledge that dozens of operators are
in telecommunications, transport, defense, satellites — for example, environmental currently active in space, and the frequency
and emergency response. Meanwhile, de- sustainability. Thousands of satellites are spectrum is limited. It is essential for gov-
veloping LEO satellites is not just a tech- already in orbit, and their numbers are ex- ernments and international organizations
nological trend but a fundamental step to- pected to rise. Experts warn that without to establish unified rules that allow satellite
systems to coexist without mutual interfer-
ence,” stated Dmitriy Vetlugin, the director
of Market Access and Sales, Central Asia
at Eutelsat OneWeb. Besides that, NGSO
systems open up new market opportunities
in developing countries and sectors such
as aviation, maritime transport, agriculture,
and corporate sectors. The goal is to make
satellite internet as accessible as mobile
networks while ensuring commercial sus-
tainability, noted Jie Wan, Vice President
of Marketing and Service at Spacesail.
Experts concluded that the future lies in
integrating GSO and NGSO systems. In the
coming years, hybrid models will emerge,
where GSO satellites provide high band-
width capacity while LEO satellites ensure
low latency and real-time responsiveness.

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