Satellite communication – A force for public good

It is probably not generally known that satellites are not just about esoteric and strategic activities. Satellites, although silently orbiting high above, veritably play a key role in this digital age to ensure critical voice and data communication seamlessly through challenging terrains and situations that other communication modes cannot handle. In this day and age, satellite communication (Satcom) is driven by the same trend that has transformed our mobile phone into so much more than just a device for making phone calls. It is about constant access to the internet, about transfer of large amounts of data, connected devices, Internet of Things (IoT), and all the other bits and pieces that make up today’s connected, always-on world. Satcom is playing the vital role of pushing the envelope and modernizing and enhancing various sectors.

Nearly every industry, from agriculture to financial services, fishing, transportation, entertainment, weather, oil and gas, and urban development, relies on space and satellite technologies to operate. The increased use of Satcom is also evident in banking, communications, education, media, remote sensing, defense, and aerospace sectors. There is considerable demand in India for satellite-based services for communication purposes, and this will see upward movement with the implementation of initiatives like 5G, IoT, and 6G.

It is worthwhile to note how Satcom is energizing some of these critical sectors.

Satcom in agriculture. The major fraction of the population of India as well as of its geography are heavily dependent on agriculture. It is also true that there is an urgent need to improve yields in Indian agriculture through adoption of modernized and technology-based precision farming. Satcom has an important role to play in this matter – it keeps farms connected and delivers reliable connectivity to optimize the technology used in a farm’s operations. With high support to the IoT industry, reliable data access on the remotest plots of land, farmers can manage, monitor, and automate farming tasks to have healthier crops and livestock, and increase their yield. Satcom today delivers reliable, high-performance solutions for smart farming and precision agriculture, management of people and equipment, and remote communications.

In precision farming, the role of real-time satellite imagery is key, based on which all intelligence and AI tools output are based.

Crop production forecasts, using satellite remote sensing data, have been conceptualized by ISRO since the early eighties. This led to the success of:

CAPE (Crop Acreage and Production Estimation) project that was done with active participation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW), toward forecasting of production of crops in selected regions.

The FASAL (forecasting agricultural output using space, agro-meteorology and land-based observations) program was conceptualized, by developing a methodology for multiple in-season forecasts of crops at national scale.

Crops covered are wheat, rice, jute, mustard, cotton, sugarcane, rabi and kharif rice, and rabi sorghum. Remote sensing-based acreage and yield forecasts, based on weather parameters or spectral indices, are used to provide production forecasts. The center is also actively involved in national-level assessment of horticultural crops and their coverage across the agro-climatic regions in the country.

Illustratively, Cropin’s deep-learning engine SmartRisk leverages satellite imaging-based data and AI-powered crop health analysis to remotely monitor the performance of every pixel at a farm, postcode, state, or country-level across India. (https://www.cropin.com/blogs/satellite-farming)

To assess the creditworthiness of farmers, ICICI Bank has been using satellite data since 2021 for over 500 villages in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, and plans to scale up the initiative to over 63,000 villages shortly across the country. This initiative gained huge significance at the time of the pandemic when people had to stay indoors and avoid travel. This use of satellite data provides quick analysis of the land, crop, and irrigation patterns from remote locations.

Thus, Satcom is playing a key role in transforming agriculture, which impacts the quality of life of our major population and their livelihood.

Satcom in healthcare. Easily accessible and affordable healthcare is a high priority for a majority of our brethren. Telemedicine is a satellite service that is particularly well-suited to the remote and far-flung areas of the North-East, where rural areas are difficult to reach and are underserved by healthcare services. Satellites play an important role in many of the most ambitious telemedicine endeavors, serving as a powerful, and relatively inexpensive, tool, particularly for video links among multiple users. In particular, during the Covid-19 pandemic, availability of Satcom-based healthcare provided great support and reassurance. With satellite bandwidth costs on the decline due to advancements in modern technologies as well as policy and regulatory changes, telemedicine will increasingly become a solution available, wherever it is needed, rather than just serving the most remote and the most needy.

Yet, Satcom does not just help those in rural areas. Telemedicine is also being used to help provide access to training and other medical services to doctors and healthcare workers in urban areas too, allowing specialists to be trained via satellite link rather than the expensive process of moving the human capital away from where it is needed for many years to allow them to gain new skills.

Satcom in disaster management. Deploying wireless communication is typically among the first priorities in any emergency response, rescue, or relief situation. However, terrestrial wireless equipment (cellular phones or land mobile radios) is only useful when communication towers and other fixed equipment are in place to connect wireless equipment to the local and global communication backbone. In the majority of emergency situations, this infrastructure has either been destroyed by some disaster or was not available before the disaster. This reality makes it critical for local government and emergency workers to have access to a wireless communication network that is not dependent on terrestrial infrastructure. Satellites are the only wireless communication infrastructure not susceptible to damage from disasters, because the main repeaters sending and receiving signals (the satellite spacecraft) are located outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Satcom for bridging the digital divide. There are several unconnected locations in India, where decades of focused government efforts have not succeeded in reaching terrestrial-based telecommunication. Such locations are either too far away and remote or difficult-to-reach due to intervening terrain, or are affected by disruptions of infrastructure by miscreants, terrorists, etc. Such places can immediately be connected through satellites since they do not need towers, fiber, or network equipment. Hence, today, thousands of such villages in India are being connected through Satcom. This will successfully bridge the digital divide and take us forward on inclusive growth.

Satcom in financial services. One of the essentials for us in modern day-to-day living is access to ATMs for ready availability of cash. India has over 200,000 functioning ATMs and 50-60 percent of them depend on satellite connectivity, especially those in rural and far-flung areas. In another example, all would appreciate that stock exchanges play a vital role in the financial sector and in the overall economy. Today, many youngsters, professionals, and even housewives play the stock exchange either as a main source of income or to supplement their regular job. Connectivity to stock exchange is an important service and few would be aware that both NSE and BSE have connectivity through satellite services.

It is clear that satellite communication services are powerful tools for the public good through provision of connectivity to various critical sectors, including DTH and broadcasting that are vital in the public interest. Apart from this, Satcom is of great importance for complementing existing terrestrial communication infrastructure like, for example, backhaul for terrestrial networks to enhance cellular coverage. It is, therefore, of paramount importance for India that the fundamental resource of spectrum for Satcom is kept affordable and allocated administratively in line with global practices as well as Indian practice for over 20 years and not put to auction. Auctioning of satellite spectrum would adversely impact public interest and surely stifle the blossoming space start-up sector in India, which, for the first time, has 150–200 start-ups. India’s space aspirations should not be negated through imposition of spectrum auctions for satellite communications.

This article is authored by TV Ramachandran, Hon. FIET (London) and President, of Broadband India Forum. Views expressed are personal.