{"id":512768,"date":"2026-03-09T10:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/512768\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:02:12","slug":"viasat-exploring-partnerships-across-indias-space-value-chain-launch-manufacturing-and-software-global-president-ben-palmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/512768\/","title":{"rendered":"Viasat exploring partnerships across India\u2019s space value chain \u2014 launch, manufacturing and software: Global President Ben Palmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Viasat India\u2019s growing prominence in the global space economy is opening new opportunities for satellite communications providers. Ben Palmer<\/a>, Global President (Commercial) of American satcom major Viasat, says the company is exploring partnerships across India\u2019s space value chain \u2014 including launch services, satellite manufacturing, terminals and software integration. In an interview with Times Internet, Palmer describes India as a market defined by \u201cenergy and ambition\u201d, 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\u2019s Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb comes close, Palmer says the industry\u2019s 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\u2019s clearly a new-found energy in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very ambitious \u2014 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 \u2014 and I\u2019ve been coming here for almost 20 years \u2014 are energy and ambition.You feel it the moment you get off the plane. There\u2019s a buzz. A dynamic, entrepreneurial, ambitious political and economic system. I hadn\u2019t been here for a few years, but when I returned last year, I could sense acceleration. That\u2019s a good thing \u2014 for India and for the world.India is the world\u2019s largest population center in a challenging neighbourhood. It\u2019s 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 you get to know each other, understand how to work effectively together. We have strong relationships here.Looking ahead, we\u2019re ambitious to do more. India has an expanding middle class, a growing aviation sector, increasingly sophisticated defence and national security needs. That\u2019s exactly the kind of environment where we want to operate as a forward-looking satellite communications provider.We\u2019re 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 \u2014 and even ISRO partnerships. However, competition is also heating up. Low-earth orbit (LEO) operators like Starlink, OneWeb, Reliance Jio with SES \u2014 these are strong players with local linkages. How do you see competitive pressure?Satellite communications is a critical enabler of space-based missions \u2014 vital for national security and economic prosperity.Yes, it\u2019s exciting to see new entrants. It\u2019s an attractive and growing market. But we\u2019ve been at the heart of this industry for many years.And yes competition — I wake up every day thinking that isn\u2019t it brilliant that I work in an industry where some of the world\u2019s richest individuals are pouring billions into a market where we\u2019ve long been leaders in.It\u2019s also a high-barrier industry due to capital intensity.There was a false debate around LEO versus GEO (geostationary orbit) \u2014 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\u2019ve launched very high-capacity ViaSat-3 satellites. But we\u2019re also focused on integrating services to deliver compelling end-to-end value-based on real customer use cases \u2014 aviation, maritime, enterprise, government.Competition pushes us to raise our game \u2014 and we welcome that.In India, we already have a strong base \u2014 maritime platforms, aviation platforms, defence relationships, and special communications services built on trust.Looking forward, we\u2019re exploring convergence between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks \u2014 including direct-to-device (D2D). We\u2019re also exploring how to repackage high-performing satellite capabilities for regional or sovereign use cases.We\u2019re here to listen, understand Indian priorities, and explore partnerships across India\u2019s 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\u2019re exploring partnerships to leverage spectrum rights, particularly in L-band, and to progressively build a constellation aligned with demand growth.We don\u2019t want to wait for a new constellation to be fully deployed. We want to start experimenting using our existing capabilities \u2014 stimulating and testing demand over the next few years.Ultimately, we believe this could deliver direct-to-consumer connectivity \u2014 but it will require collaboration with handset makers, chipmakers, and mobile operators.It\u2019s important to understand that this is not a replacement for terrestrial connectivity \u2014 it\u2019s an augmentation.Like fiber doesn\u2019t go everywhere because it\u2019s not economically viable, non-terrestrial networks can fill the last 5% coverage gap.The vision is seamless connectivity \u2014 no dropped calls \u2014 as you move between terrestrial and satellite coverage.Initially, we\u2019ll start with emergency and minimal data services. Seamless, ubiquitous coverage will take time \u2014 likely several years \u2014 but that is the direction.Capital efficiency is critical. We\u2019re looking not only at technology innovation but also business model innovation \u2014 infrastructure sharing, cost reduction \u2014 to make it viable for consumers and businesses.You spoke about India\u2019s growing private space ecosystem. What kinds of partnerships are you looking at?We\u2019re exploring across the entire space value chain \u2014 launch, satellite manufacturing, terminal manufacturing, software integration.We\u2019re interested in cost-effective launch solutions, high-quality manufacturing at scale, innovative terminal solutions.Yes, it\u2019s exciting to speak to young entrepreneurs. But there are also serious, established Indian companies doing high-end precision work.We\u2019re open to the full spectrum \u2014 from procurement to strategic partnership. It\u2019s too early to speculate. We\u2019re here to understand and explore.We\u2019re also very excited about Indian technical talent. We now employ around 300 people in India across software and systems engineering. We\u2019re 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\u2019ve coordinated GX4 & I6F1 satellites with ISRO and, through its commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, have acquired GX capacity. We\u2019re also discussing additional capacity.Primarily, this supports aviation \u2014 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\u2019re also exploring whether we can repackage advanced satellite technology into smaller, more cost-effective sovereign capabilities \u2014 potentially interesting for countries like India.This could serve both national security and economic connectivity \u2014 including rural broadband.We\u2019re in early discussions about how such models might be Indianized, reduce costs, and align with \u201cMake in India\u201d 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\u2019re not ready to make announcements. We want to understand capabilities, technologies, and where partnerships make sense \u2014 economically and technologically.It might make sense. It might not. We\u2019re exploring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"India\u2019s growing prominence in the global space economy is opening new opportunities for satellite communications providers. Ben Palmer,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[232459,232458,5,79,193,232460],"class_list":["post-512768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ben-palmer","tag-gautam-sharma","tag-narendra-modi","tag-science","tag-space","tag-times-internet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}