SatCom Industry Association (SIA-India) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI).

The pact heralds the beginning of a new collaboration between the two vibrant organisations and together they are expected to cooperate in development of standards in India and international SDOs (like ITU, 3GPP, etc) that address the common interests and stimulate and assist future cooperation of their member organizations. The ultimate aim is to bring cooperation and support for the standardisation towards an efficient and sustainable industry, a statement from SIA-India said Monday.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, President SIA-India, said, “The collaboration between SIA-India and TSDSI will go a long way in strengthening the standards-based manufacturing expertise in the country. We hope Indian standards will soon be recognized globally”.

SIA-India, as the voice of the domestic and international stakeholders in the satellite economy, brings the industry focus to build a strong ecosystem.

The organisation represents satellite operators, satellite-based service providers, satellite systems, launch vehicles, ground and terminal equipment manufacturers and suppliers as well as IOT/M2M application solutions providers, space startups, innovation hubs, academic institutions and law firms and provides interface with the government, regulators, policymakers, and domestic and international standards bodies.

Pamela Kumar, Director General, TSDSI, said, “The Next Generation Networks (NGN) for 5G, 6G and beyond will be based on the optimal utilization of spectrum using innovations like Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. This heralds a new era of co-existence and convergence of Satellite, Broadcast and cellular networks to provide ultimate flexibility in applications, access and throughput. Signing of the MOU between TSDSI and SIA-India is a first step towards collaboration of Satellite and Telecom experts to innovate, leapfrog and embrace the potential of NGN for India.”

TSDSI as a SDO aims at developing and promoting India-specific requirements; standardizing solutions for meeting these requirements and contributing these to international standards; contributing to global standardization in the field of telecommunications; maintaining the technical standards and other deliverables of the organization; helping create manufacturing expertise in the country and collaborating with other developing countries to jointly work on telecommunication related standardisation activities.

SIA-India DG Anil Prakash said that it was a significant move for SIA-India to sign a MOU with the TSDSI and this would pave the way for cooperation and exchange of information regarding satellite networks in India and other territories, apart from cooperation in other fields.