Latest news with #Pemmasani
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Starlink can provide services only to 2 million users in India: Centre
Elon Musk's satellite communication service Starlink will be able to provide connections to only 2 million users in India, with a maximum speed of 200 megabits per second (mbps) across the country for ₹3,000 per month, said Union Minister of State for Telecommunications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar. It is due to this high upfront cost that the services of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), especially in rural areas, will not be impacted, Pemmasani said. 'So, there is no way satellites can provide any meaningful connectivity in India,' he said. He was speaking on the sidelines of a day-long review meeting of BSNL on Monday. The Minister of State's comments come against the backdrop of private telecommunications (telecom) service providers flagging Starlink's entry into India on the grounds that the company's satellite service directly competed with the terrestrial services being offered by the carriers. State-run BSNL competes with the private telecom operators in the Indian market. Over the last year, the government has installed 100,000 4G towers for BSNL. Both the software and hardware have been developed indigenously in the country, he said, adding that BSNL is resolving issues with 4G connections across the country on an ongoing basis. 'The integration, developing everything within two-three years, was hard. There were some issues, and we have cleaned up a lot of that. Ninety per cent of the problems have been solved. Our goal is to get everybody on the same page,' Pemmasani said. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also working to resolve legacy issues, such as the lack of adequate power backup for BSNL's towers and base stations, as well as disconnected fixed-line fibre, he said. Once these issues are resolved, the next step will be to market and sell BSNL's products and offerings, ensuring the telco achieves true profitability, he said. The government and DoT are also working to improve the average revenue per user (Arpu) of the state-run telco and bring it on par with that of the private players, the minister of state said. 'It is different based on the (telecom) circle. If you have a lot of rural communities and low affordability, the revenue per user is a little bit different from some of the metro circles,' he said. In some rural circles, BSNL has an average weighted Arpu of up to ₹70 per user, whereas in select urban circles, it reaches as high as ₹170, a DoT official later stated. Despite the government's capital expenditure on BSNL, the state-run telco is unlikely to implement a tariff hike in the near future to improve its ARPU margin, Pemmasani said. 'We want people to experience the BSNL service again. People will have a choice now,' he said.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Starlink not threat to BSNL, other telcos: MoS Communications
Starlink and satellite internet services like it would barely make a dent in the revenues of telecom operators and the state-owned telco BSNL, Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told presspersons on Monday. Mr. Pemmasani was speaking on the sidelines of a BSNL strategy meet, chaired by Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. All the over thirty circle heads of BSNL were present for the day-long meet. Mr. Pemmasani was responding to a query on whether Starlink would threaten the viability of BSNL's own remote and rural connectivity efforts. Mr. Pemmasani said that 'only around 2 million subscribers' can be connected to Starlink's networks, due to the paucity of bandwidth that the satellite internet constellation offers. While the government has indicated in the past that satellite internet is not a threat to terrestrial telecom networks, this is the most direct allusion to date of Starlink's limited bandwidth. 'The initial cost is ₹30,000, and then there is a monthly cost ₹3000,' he said, underlining the cost disadvantage satellite internet faces in India. Two million subscribers is a fraction of even the 4 crore fixed broadband connections in Indian households, which is itself considered underpenetrated. Over 97 crore mobile broadband connections, defined as mobile connections with at least 2Mbps speeds, have been recorded in data compiled by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Mr. Pemmasani did not directly respond to a question on whether BSNL's two consecutive quarters of profit would continue — the telco's CMD Robert J. Ravi said in a statement during the previous quarter's earnings report that several investments underway would lead to a few unprofitable quarters. However, he said that many issues were being worked out with regard to tower rollouts and asset monetisation. Tens of thousands of towers were being added in all districts, in a 'strategic' way to ensure an even spread of coverage, he said. On asset monetisation, Mr. Pemmasani alluded to land records issues with many BSNL properties, particularly since many old allocation deeds have been lost, or never existed. There are also issues in buildings where India Post and BSNL — both under the Ministry of Communications — are operating simultaneously, requiring one to give an NOC to the other. In over half the land surveyed for monetisation, Mr. Pemmasani said that solutions like mutation had been arrived at in consultation with State governments.
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Elon Musk's Starlink can give only 20 lakh connections, offer up to 200 Mbps speed pan-India. Know why
Union Minister Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said Billionaire Elon Musk's satellite communications company, Starlink, can only have 20 lakh connections in India amid the competitive threat to the state-owned BSNL and other telecom operators, reported news agency PTI on Monday, 28 July 2025. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, the Minister of State for Rural Development and Telecommunications, also said that the US-based satellite internet provider will be able to offer up to 200 Mbps of internet speed, which the government believes will not affect other telecom operators. 'Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services,' Minister Pemmasani told the news agency on the sidelines of a BSNL review meeting. The company's satellite internet services are expected to target customers in the rural and remote areas of India, which is also a big market for the state-owned telecom service provider BSNL. Minister Pemmasani also said that the upfront cost for the satcom service will be too high, and the monthly cost will likely be around ₹ 3,000. According to the report, Pemmasani also said that BSNL's 4G network rollout is completed, and the government-owned telecom provider does not plan to increase its network tariffs at this time. 'We want market first. There are no tariff hikes planned,' the minister told the news agency. According to the official website, the eStarlink network is the world's first and largest satellite internet provider. The technology uses Earth's lower orbit to deliver broadband (Wi-Fi) internet to its users. People can use this broadband network to support streaming, online gaming, and video calling by accessing the satellite network through their home setup or portable Starlink equipment. Billionaire founder Elon Musk's space tech startup SpaceX owns and controls Starlink's operations worldwide. Mint reported earlier that Starlink aims to address connectivity issues in rural and remote regions of India and expand the domestic telecom industry with its satellite technology.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Musk's Starlink can provide only 20 lakh connections across India, won't affect telecom services: Govt
Billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, which provides satellite communication services, will be able to give only 20 lakh connections across India, union minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Monday. MoS Pemmasani said that the cost for the satcom services will be too high.(REUTERS) This thus reduces the threat to other telecom players, including state-run BSNL. 'Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services,' the Minister of State (MoS) for Telecom said. The satellite communication services provided by Starlink, which promise high-speed internet via low Earth orbit satellites, will likely target rural and remote areas. MoS Pemmasani said that the cost for the satcom services will be too high, adding that customers might have to pay up to ₹3000 per month. He was speaking on the sidelines of a review meeting of BSNL, whose 49 network rollout has been completed. The MoS said that the state-run provider is focusing on market first, adding that there were no tariff hikes planned. Starlink to introduce Satcom services after IN-SPACe nod The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) earlier this month gave regulatory clearance to Starlink to launch satellite-based internet services in India. The government had granted the company a licence in early June to provide Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) services, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) Category-A services. Starlink is the third company, after OneWeb and Jio, to receive approval from the Department of Telecommunications for satcom services. Both Airtel and Jio recently partnered with Starlink to launch its high-speed satellite internet services in India. The Elon Musk-owned company will utilise the dealer networks of both these operators to distribute its services in the market. While Starlink had been waiting since 2022 for licences to commence commercial operations in India, delays due to reasons including national security concerns were preventing its launch.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Union Minister Pemmasani tours Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh districts; pushes mission-mode development
GUNTUR: Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar conducted a three-day tour of Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh. 'We are implementing development in mission mode to ensure every service reaches even the remotest villages,' the Minister said. He visited villages including Mankeli, Gangaloor, and Cherpal in Bijapur district, where he took part in awareness campaigns and distributed sanction orders under PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) and Ayushman Bharat - PMJAY health cards to beneficiaries. He interacted with self-help groups (SHGs), Anganwadi workers, and community leaders, stressing the importance of grassroots participation in governance. Dr Pemmasani laid the foundation stone for a Farmers' Training Centre and inspected the Primary Health Centre and Livelihood Centre. He praised officials and volunteers for their commitment under challenging conditions and encouraged them to maintain consistent engagement with tribal communities. In Kanker and Kondagaon districts, he addressed public meetings, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to transforming conflict-affected tribal regions through inclusive development. During the three-day visit, he reviewed the progress of flagship schemes such as the Jal Jeevan Mission, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, and Poshan Abhiyaan. He urged officials to enhance inter-departmental convergence to improve delivery outcomes and ensure that no eligible beneficiary is left behind. Dr Pemmasani also instructed district administrations to identify bottlenecks and fast-track infrastructure projects. District collectors, elected representatives, and senior officials accompanied him throughout the visit.
