With Gsat-30 set to be launched on Jan 17, India's rural areas one step away from receiving high-speed internet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its first satellite of the year on January 17, ISRO chairman K Sivan said. The satellite, Gsat-30, will be launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana. The geostationary satellite, which weighs around 3450 kg, will replace Insat-4A satellite, a report said.

With the launch of Gsat-30, India will be one step further in achieving the goal of high-speed internet throughout the nation. Earlier, India had launched three high-throughput satellites as part of this programme. The satellites are Gsat-19, Gsat-29 and Gsat-31. It is learnt that ISRO is also planning to launch another high-throughput satellite Gsat-20.

With the launch of each Gsat satellite, more and more regions in the country will receive high-speed internet facility. With the launch of Gsat-30, high-speed internet will be available on even aeroplanes and ships.

At present, India's average internet speed is 2Mbps. Though private telecommunication companies provide highspeed internet throughout Indian cities, they have not been able to provide the same in rural parts of the country.

Average internet speed of other countries

Korea: 25 Mbps
USA: 11 Mbps
Europe: 10 Mbps
China: 6 Mbps