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India is poised to become one of the fastest-growing markets in the global satellite economy over the next five years, according to Isabelle Mauro, Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA), who said the country's vast rural geography makes it a natural fit for satellite-based connectivity.
In an exclusive interview to ANI, Mauro said the satellite industry views India with considerable ambition, noting that large parts of the country remain economically unviable for terrestrial telecom infrastructure, making satellite connectivity essential to bridging that gap. On whether India could emerge as one of the world's largest satellite broadband markets, with companies including Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Amazon Kuiper preparing to expand operations in the country, Mauro said these were just three of GSOA's 70-plus member companies eyeing opportunities in India. She said satellite broadband and backhaul services present major opportunities, comparing the current moment in the satellite sector to the early days of mobile telephony roughly two decades ago. She also pointed to Reliance Jio's satellite ambitions as a sign of growing domestic interest in space. On GSOA's recommendations to the Indian government, Mauro outlined three priorities. First, she called for structural predictability, urging regulators to design licensing frameworks that account for the long investment and life cycles of satellite technology, which differ significantly from terrestrial telecom. Second, she cautioned against "regulatory copy-pasting," stressing that satellite technology and business models are fundamentally different from terrestrial infrastructure and require purpose-built regulation rather than adapted terrestrial rules. Third, she urged the government to adopt cost-recovery-based economic models rather than treating satellite spectrum as a new revenue stream, warning that overly extractive pricing could undermine the goal of connecting unconnected populations. Asked whether Skyroot Aerospace's progress in launch vehicle development could make India a more competitive destination for global satellite operators seeking cost-effective launches, Mauro said she believes there is room for multiple players in the market. Speaking as a representative of the European satellite industry herself, she said the projected scale of future satellite launches dwarfs figures from a decade ago, leaving space for efficient, competitive companies from any region, including India, to play a meaningful role on the global stage. (ANI)
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