OneWeb in talks to reduce access terminal costs, says Sunil Mittal

Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal has said group satellite arm OneWeb is in talks with Sasken Technologies, Isro’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and a clutch of global tech companies to sharply reduce user access terminal costs before launching fast satellite broadband services in India by May 2022.

He said OneWeb’s immediate objective is to cut the India-pricing of two satellite user terminal variants—ESAs (electronically steered antenna systems) and DPAs (dual parabolic antenna systems)—by at least 50%.

An access terminal is a key piece of satellite gear required to deliver high-speed internet from space to end-users and Mittal expects prices to drop once volumes start increasing. The more expensive DPA terminal variant is used to deliver satellite-based broadband connectivity on maritime ships and oil rig installations.


“We are in active discussions with Sasken, NSIL and two to three new-age global tech companies to bring down the cost of user satellite access terminals in India…the objective is to lower the price of ESAs to around $500-600 from $1,000 now, and the price of DPAs to around $2,000-2,500 apiece from $5,000-6,000 today,” Mittal said while speaking to reporters on OneWeb’s upcoming India plans.

Affordable pricing of user access terminals, he said, is critical to drive wider adoption of satellite broadband services in India, especially as it won’t be commercially feasible for OneWeb to subsidise large volumes of such satellite communications devices.

“It’s absolutely imperative we have affordable terminals, otherwise the company will have to unnecessarily subsidise them…you can do that in small quantities and amortise the subsidy over a 5-7 year period, but not in very large quantities,” Mittal said.