Satellite-based Narrowband-IoT Now a Reality in India

BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, announced today a breakthrough in satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things), in pursuance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of a truly Digital India – starting with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises. With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices.

This new ‘Made in India‘ Solution, which is indigenously developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNL’s satellite ground infrastructure and provide PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.

Shri P. K. Purwar, CMD, BSNL, said, “The solution is in line with BSNL’s vision to leverage technology to provide affordable and innovative telecom services and products across customers segments.” He further added, “Skylo would also help provide critical data for the logistics sector to enable effective distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 and will be a big contributor in service to the nation.”

Shri Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and Co-founder, Skylo, said, “For centuries, industries, including agriculture, railways and fisheries, have been operating offline, and have not had the opportunity to take full advantage of the latest advancements in AI& IoT – until today. This is the worlds first satellite-based NB-IoT network and I am proud to launch this capability India first to transform lives and our domestic industries.“

Shri Vivek Banzal, Director (CFA), BSNL Board, said, “Successful POCs have already been conducted by BSNL and Skylo in India and we will soon approach various user groups before the New Year 2021 begins.”

This breakthrough announcement is very timely because it comes during the ongoing Indian Mobile Congress 2020. This new technology supports the Department of Telecom and NITI Aayog’s plan of bringing indigenous IoT connectivity to India’s core sectors. Examples of where this technology has already been tested successfully include, Indian Railways, fishing vessels, and enabling connected vehicles across India.

A small, smart, incredibly rugged box, the Skylo ‘User Terminal‘ interfaces with sensors and transmits data to the Skylo Network and into people’s hands. The accompanying Data Platform provides an immersive, visual, experience for industry-specific applications on mobile or desktop. It gives users the ability to take immediate and appropriate action, no matter where they are. This new digital machine connectivity layer will serve as a complement to smartphone-centric mobile & Wi-Fi networks, and covers India’s full geography to bring online new applications for the first time.