The Indian Government could very well get in place the new spacecom policy soon with an aim to boost the country’s broadband networks via low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems and also encourage public-private participation so private sector satellite players could contribute to India’s space developments.

“The Department of Space (DoS) will notify the new Spacecom policy very shortly as it has concluded all activities relating to its formulation, and only administrative approval is pending,” R Shakhya, DDG (satellite) in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), said at a satcoms webinar Wednesday, according to a report in  Economic Times.

While Bharti Airtel-backed OneWeb (the British Government is the other backer) has already received an okay from the Department of Telecoms (DoT) for satellite broadband service in India, Elon Musk’s Spacelink too has shown interest in the segment after its pre-sale orders here earlier this year were questioned by the local players.

According to the report, Sakhya added that the policy will underline the “very significant role that non-geostationary (NGSO) satellites systems, as in LEOs and MEOs (medium earth orbit), are likely to play in India,” and enabling regulations will be around ways to use such new-age satellite constellations optimally without duplicating existing telecoms network infrastructure.

Separately, Sakhya said DoT will shortly seek the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s views on issuing geography-specific permits for LEO constellation operators, especially as several satellite service companies are not keen on pan-India permits and intend offering satellite broadband connectivity only in some markets, the ETreports stated..

The latest spacecom policy developments come even as the likes of Bharti-backed OneWeb, SpaceX (Starlink), and the Tata-Telesat combine ready to enter India’s relatively nascent fast broadband-via-satellite segment, leveraging respective LEO constellations.

However, a Reuters report a few months back had raised some questions on Starlink’s LEO broadband service in the US, quoting users in States like Arizona, saying that such a service could be impacted by rains or extreme heat.

The Reuters report had added, quoting people in the know of the project, if the Starlink service is successful, it could vastly expand the reach of broadband internet around the world, connect Tesla vehicles, and even provide a new platform for traders and others with exotic internet needs.

But to do that, it must avoid the fate of similar satellite ventures that have preceded it.

SpaceX’s Starlink division launched its “Better Than Nothing Beta program” in the United States last October, with data speeds up to a competitive 150 megabits per second. Early reviews are mixed, with some users complaining of the problems that have always plagued satellite Internet: sensitivity to weather.