Satellite Phones Are Coming And Y’All Will be Able to Buy It Soon

The phones will be offered by BSNL to the government initially, consumers can buy in 2 years from now.

Satellite phones –coming to a store near you, very soon. (Photo: Liju Joseph/The Quint)

If you’re tired of bad mobile network, and don’t want to rely on Airtel or Vodafone’s 4G network, then Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) can answer your prayers with its satellite phone. Yes, the same phone that James Bond 007 uses whenever he’s stuck with the villains.

BSNL has started a satellite phone service using International Mobile Satellite Organisation (INMARSAT) which will initially be offered to government agencies, and will later be extended to citizens in a phased manner.

The service will cover areas where no networks are present and will be provided by INMARSAT which has 14 satellites. Agencies handling disasters, state police, railways, Border Security Force (BSF) and other government agencies will be given the phones in the first phase.

Satellite transmission works better than mobile towers. (Photo: Giphy)

Call rates on satellite phones are expected to be in the range of Rs 30-35 in the first phase, when there are only about 4,600 connections in the country. “In 18 to 24 months, we will be in a position to open satellite phones service for citizens in a phased manner,” said Anupam Shrivastava BSNL Chairman and Managing Director.

But before you get all excited about the prospect of buying satellite phones in the country, here’s all you need to know about these communication devices.

(Photo: Liju Joseph/The Quint)

What & How of Satellite Phone

Satellite phones completely rely on signals transmitted via satellites that are positioned out in the orbit. Since they have no relation with mobile towers, satellite phones work in isolated terrains and remote areas seamlessly. You can even be on a lost island and still be able to call up your friends for help.

Micheal Douglas managed to call with his satellite phone. (Photo: Giphy) 

When a person using satellite phone calls, the connection is routed through the source satellite, to destination satellite, which finally reaches the person to whom the call was made.

There are 1,532 authorised satellite phone connections in India that can operate within the country, and a majority of them are used by security forces.

Calling charges via satellites phones are high, and even buying them will cost you more than Rs 40,000. The price of these phones can go up to Rs 2.5 lakh, depending on the connectivity range that the user needs.

Coming to All Very Soon

Unlike previous years, satellite phones will be made available to the public in few years from now. For this, INMARSAT and BSNL have got the license from the Department of Telecom (DoT) that gives them the authority to offer satellite phones in the country.

With satellite phones, there has always been the threat of national security and user privacy. But this time, BSNL claims that it has set up a gateway with INMARSAT. Their satellite phone gateway has been set up in India with legal interception and monitoring system (LIMS), to ensure security of the users is fool-proof.

This is what a satellite phone looks like. (Photo Courtesy: Globalstar)

So once both BSNL and INMARSAT register for servicing consumers, and get the required approvals for it, anyone will be able to buy and use satellite phones in India.

BSNL believes that once the device is publicly available, leading up to increase in number of satellite phone users, the cost of owning such phone will gradually come down.

(With inputs from PTI)