Despite being available for public as the Global Satellite Phone Service since 2018, a recent social media post highlighting its price tag of Rs 1,34,166 has brought state-owned BSNL’s satellite phone into the spotlight. “Designed for challenging environments, making it an ideal solution for Defence, Maritime, Disaster Response, Mining, Remote Operations and Adventure Travel,” reads the post on X.
What is BSNL’s satellite phone? “This BSNL’s device is a dedicated handset with a physical antenna that has to be pulled out before you can make a call, unlike a conventional smartphone, where the antenna is built into the body of the phone. It also uses a separate SIM, meaning a separate phone number from your regular mobile number, and connects directly to the geostationary satellite for voice and SMS. This is a conventional satellite phone, not satellite connectivity added to an ordinary smartphone,” explained telecom expert Parag Kar in a YouTube explainer video. Watch his full video here.
According to a Lok Sabha reply by Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, BSNL has been running Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS) for voice and SMS services, excluding data, for the general public and private enterprises since January 1, 2018. This predates the recent attempts for satellite connectivity by telecom and satellite companies like Jio-Airtel-Starlink and VI-AST Space Mobile.
How are satellite phones different from smartphones?
The design placement of the antenna is different for smartphones and satellite phones: “A regular smartphone has an internal antenna, a regular SIM, a connection to terrestrial base stations, and a standard mobile number, all built in. The satellite phone requires a different modem, a different antenna, a different radio network, and a different service platform altogether. It has essentially nothing in common with a smartphone’s terrestrial network setup,” said Kar while highlighting that the internal antenna in smartphones is omnidirectional and weaker.
Default encrypted communication: According to the same February Lok Sabha reply, the Ministry also affirms that “GSPS service is inherently a secure communication as information is transferred in encrypted form.”
How satellite phones differ from mobile phones: He also said that communicating via geostationary satellites is different from communicating through terrestrial mobile towers. He added that “talking to a satellite 36,000 kilometres away requires far more technological refinement than talking to a terrestrial mobile tower, which might be only 1 to 5 kilometres away. Signal strength falls off with the square of distance (the familiar 1/r² relationship), so by the time a smartphone-strength signal reaches a satellite 36,000 kilometres away, it has attenuated enormously; effectively becoming unusable without a much stronger link.”
Why voice calls are difficult on satellite phones: “Satellite…
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