India’s strategic, commercial and humanitarian interests now make reliance on foreign satellite-phone providers a liability. Domestic production and a sovereign service would protect national security, ensure uninterrupted connectivity in crises, and keep value and control inside the country.
Foreign dependence is already regulated and politically sensitive. India restricts most satellite-phone use and requires DoT permission or use through BSNL’s licensed gateway — a recognition that satellite links bypass terrestrial networks and raise national-security concerns.
Foreign operators and vendors dominate the handheld satphone market: Iridium (global LEO network), Inmarsat (GEO services), Thuraya and Globalstar are the familiar brand names used worldwide. These firms control the network architecture, software updates, roaming and numbering — meaning any political or commercial dispute, sanctions or technical change can disrupt Indian users. Relying on them hands critical comms to outsiders.
Real incidents underline the risk. Indian authorities regularly seize unauthorized satellite phones at ports and airports; the government also blocks or tightly controls non-Inmarsat services because of past misuse of satellite links in terror and conflict situations. Recent reporting about unlicensed Starlink and other foreign devices being used in sensitive areas shows how quickly foreign systems can complicate law-enforcement and security responses.
An indigenous satphone capability — whether built by an Indian manufacturer and operated on Indian satellites or provided through guaranteed domestic gateways and strict supply-chain oversight — would deliver concrete advantages: full law-enforcement visibility, assured encryption standards under Indian control, the ability to prioritize emergency and defence traffic, and immunity from third-party commercial cutoffs or export controls. It would also permit tailored roaming agreements for Indian users abroad and more affordable service plans for civil uses such as disaster response, maritime safety, mountaineering and remote public services.
India already has the satellite infrastructure and private partners to build this ecosystem. ISRO’s GSAT series and recent high-throughput launches provide national capacity for comms and broadband backhaul; Indian firms (Bharti/OneWeb partnerships, Airtel’s deals with Starlink and other satcom entrants) show the private sector appetite for domestic satellite solutions — but handsets and user services remain largely foreign controlled. A coordinated public-private programme (ISRO/NewSpace India Ltd. + DoT + industry) could develop secure handsets, certification, and an Indian gateway model.
Obstacles are solvable: certification regimes, spectrum allocation, export controls, and manufacturing scale require policy focus and investment. The payoff is strategic resilience and cheaper, legally compliant access for civilians, first responders and businesses. For a nation that increasingly depends on secure connectivity, sovereign satphones are not luxury — they are infrastructure.
