Starlink and OneWeb: Can satellite broadband bridge India's digital divide?

 Satellite-based broadband connectivity promises to bridge India's digital divide. But can it deliver? What challenges does it face? Let's look at this new technology and understand and its pitfalls

When the lockdown was imposed and schools were shut, scores of reports about students climbing to the top of trees to attend virtual classes on their phones poured in from various quarters of the country. At this age and time, children risking their lives to get an education shocked many. A majority of students in rural areas could not attend online classes at all during the pandemic as they had no Internet connectivity.
But one technology is promising to change all this -- satellite-based broadband connectivity. What challenges does it face? Here is a peek into this new technology which promises to bridge the digital divide:
India’s rural Internet connectivity so far
70% of India’s rural population does not have Internet access
Union government had launched the Digital India scheme to connect rural areas with the Internet
1.78 lakh gram panchayats connected with optical fiber so far
The target is to provide broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats
Internet penetration in the country stood at around 50% in 2020
India had launched the BharatNet project in 2011 to ensure that every village panchayat in the country has broadband Internet connectivity. But, according to a report in 2020, half of India’s population still does not have Internet access. And 70% of the country’s rural population is yet to log in to the Internet.
To date, BharatNet connections have been provided to 1.78 lakh gram panchayats. In June this year, the Union Cabinet approved the implementation of the project in 16 states through the Public-Private Partnership Model (PPP). When it comes to wired broadband, India had only 24.3 million customers at the end of August, most of whom are urban subscribers.