India’s growing prominence in the global space economy is opening new opportunities for satellite communications providers. Ben Palmer, Global President (Commercial) of American satcom major Viasat, says the company is exploring partnerships across India’s space value chain — including launch services, satellite manufacturing, terminals and software integration. In an interview with Times Internet, Palmer describes India as a market defined by “energy and ambition”, citing its expanding aviation sector, rising defence requirements and strong technology talent pool. As competition from global low-earth orbit (LEO) satcom players such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb comes close, Palmer says the industry’s future lies in hybrid satellite networks that combine different orbital technologies to deliver seamless connectivity.Excerpts:India recently hosted the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Almost all the important global tech leaders were in attendance here. There’s clearly a new-found energy in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very ambitious — he wants India to be at the center of whatever is happening globally. With a large population and a growing economy, that ambition is visible. How do you look at India as a market?The two words that always jump out at me when I come to India — and I’ve been coming here for almost 20 years — are energy and ambition.You feel it the moment you get off the plane. There’s a buzz. A dynamic, entrepreneurial, ambitious political and economic system. I hadn’t been here for a few years, but when I returned last year, I could sense acceleration. That’s a good thing — for India and for the world.India is the world’s largest population center in a challenging neighbourhood. It’s asserting itself, growing more confident, more forward-looking, and economically powerful.From a business perspective, we at Viasat have been doing business in India for many years — going back to when India was a founding member of Inmarsat, which began as a UN organization providing essential maritime safety services. Over time, that expanded into aviation, government, enterprise, and shipping connectivity.India has been part of our story for a long time. We have enduring partnerships, including with BSNL. Partnerships take time — you get to know each other, understand how to work effectively together. We have strong relationships here.Looking ahead, we’re ambitious to do more. India has an expanding middle class, a growing aviation sector, increasingly sophisticated defence and national security needs. That’s exactly the kind of environment where we want to operate as a forward-looking satellite communications provider.We’re optimistic and excited.Satellite communications (satcom) has picked up momentum over the last 2-3 years. Earlier it was more B2B, but now the conversation includes coverage of dark network zones, strategic services, defence, maritime, aviation — and even ISRO partnerships. However, competition is also heating up. Low-earth orbit (LEO) operators like Starlink, OneWeb, Reliance Jio with SES — these are strong players with local linkages. How do you see competitive pressure?Satellite communications is a critical enabler of space-based missions — vital for national security and economic prosperity.Yes, it’s exciting to see new entrants. It’s an attractive and growing market. But we’ve been at the heart of this industry for many years.And yes competition — I wake up every day thinking that isn’t it brilliant that I work in an industry where some of the world’s richest individuals are pouring billions into a market where we’ve long been leaders in.It’s also a high-barrier industry due to capital intensity.There was a false debate around LEO versus GEO (geostationary orbit) — as if it had to be one, or the other. In reality, customers will increasingly benefit from hybrid services. LEO does some things very well. GEO does others very well. The future is orchestration and integration.We’ve launched very high-capacity ViaSat-3 satellites. But we’re also focused on integrating services to deliver compelling end-to-end value-based on real customer use cases — aviation, maritime, enterprise, government.Competition pushes us to raise our game — and we welcome that.In India, we already have a strong base — maritime platforms, aviation platforms, defence relationships, and special communications services built on trust.Looking forward, we’re exploring convergence between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks — including direct-to-device (D2D). We’re also exploring how to repackage high-performing satellite capabilities for regional or sovereign use cases.We’re here to listen, understand Indian priorities, and explore partnerships across India’s vibrant space ecosystem.You mentioned D2D. What are your plans there? Is it mostly LEO-driven?We see an opportunity to leverage 3GPP standards and converge terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks through open, standards-based systems.We’re exploring partnerships to leverage spectrum rights, particularly in L-band, and to progressively build a constellation aligned with demand growth.We don’t want to wait for a new constellation to be fully deployed. We want to start experimenting using our existing capabilities — stimulating and testing demand over the next few years.Ultimately, we believe this could deliver direct-to-consumer connectivity — but it will require collaboration with handset makers, chipmakers, and mobile operators.It’s important to understand that this is not a replacement for terrestrial connectivity — it’s an augmentation.Like fiber doesn’t go everywhere because it’s not economically viable, non-terrestrial networks can fill the last 5% coverage gap.The vision is seamless connectivity — no dropped calls — as you move between terrestrial and satellite coverage.Initially, we’ll start with emergency and minimal data services. Seamless, ubiquitous coverage will take time — likely several years — but that is the direction.Capital efficiency is critical. We’re looking not only at technology innovation but also business model innovation — infrastructure sharing, cost reduction — to make it viable for consumers and businesses.You spoke about India’s growing private space ecosystem. What kinds of partnerships are you looking at?We’re exploring across the entire space value chain — launch, satellite manufacturing, terminal manufacturing, software integration.We’re interested in cost-effective launch solutions, high-quality manufacturing at scale, innovative terminal solutions.Yes, it’s exciting to speak to young entrepreneurs. But there are also serious, established Indian companies doing high-end precision work.We’re open to the full spectrum — from procurement to strategic partnership. It’s too early to speculate. We’re here to understand and explore.We’re also very excited about Indian technical talent. We now employ around 300 people in India across software and systems engineering. We’re in a global war for talent, and India is a strong talent hub.What about your relationship with ISRO?Viasat India MD Gautam Sharma — We’ve coordinated GX4 & I6F1 satellites with ISRO and, through its commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, have acquired GX capacity. We’re also discussing additional capacity.Primarily, this supports aviation — especially in-flight connectivity.Ben Palmer – Often we augment our own network with sovereign satellite capacity. We build patchworks of capability to ensure the right capacity in the right place.We’re also exploring whether we can repackage advanced satellite technology into smaller, more cost-effective sovereign capabilities — potentially interesting for countries like India.This could serve both national security and economic connectivity — including rural broadband.We’re in early discussions about how such models might be Indianized, reduce costs, and align with “Make in India” priorities.Would you consider launching satellites from India?We are in the earliest stages of exploring collaboration across the entire value chain, including launch.We’re not ready to make announcements. We want to understand capabilities, technologies, and where partnerships make sense — economically and technologically.It might make sense. It might not. We’re exploring.
