Eutelsat OneWeb’s Satellite Commercial Broadband Services

GS Paper III Science & Tech

Context:

OneWeb India, a subsidiary of Eutelsat Group, has received authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to launch its commercial satellite broadband services in India.

Indian National Space, Promotion & Authorization Centre (INSPACe)

Objective: To act as a single window nodal agency which will oversee and permit the activities of the private companies into the space sector.
- Activities which will be permitted include building of space launch vehicles, satellites and providing other space based services.
Governance: The IN-SPACe will consist of four directorates namely- Technical, Legal, Safety & Security, Monitoring & Promotion- which will carry on the functions and mandate assigned to the organization.
- The body will be headed by the Chairman and have technical experts, members from academia/industry and other members from the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of External Affairs.
Nodal agency: Department of Space (DOS)
Functions:
- It will also oversee the sharing of the ISRO assets by the private players with due consideration to the present and ongoing projects of the ISRO.
- It will also handhold and guide the private players on the issue of technology, promotion and expertise.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Network:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are located far closer to Earth than GEO satellites.
LEO satellites are generally found within 500-1,500 km.
LEO constellations continuously orbit the planet and are not fixed to one point like GEO satellites.

OneWeb

Geostationary orbit (GEO)

Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following Earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by traveling at exactly the same rate as Earth.
This makes satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position.

The Eutelsat OneWeb group was formed after the merger between two satellite operators, becoming the first fully integrated GEO-LEO satellite operator with a fleet of 37 geostationary satellites and a LEO constellation of more than 600 satellites placed 1200kms above the earth’s surface.
At present, the company is awaiting satellite spectrum allocation from the Government of India.

It Provides internet network connectivity through LEO or geostationary satellites, ensuring high-speed internet services even in remote areas.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a project by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, to provide high-speed internet access to anywhere on the planet using a constellation of thousands of satellites.
Aim: To offer broadband service that is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than existing options, especially in rural and remote areas where connectivity is limited or nonexistent.

Internet service providers send an internet signal to a satellite in space, which then comes back to the users and is captured by their satellite dish.
The dish is connected to the user’s modem, which finally connects their computer to the internet signal.
This process then reverses back to the internet service provider and is repeated every time.

News Source: The Hindu