Similar to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, founders of Devas plan to power 5G using satellite tech
FOUNDERS OF Bengaluru start up, Devas Multimedia, a firm embroiled in a legal battle with the Indian government over a failed 2005 satellite deal, are attempting to deploy satellite-based technology earlier associated with Devas for 5G telecom rollout in the US.
Omnispace LLC, a start up in the US, which has Devas Multimedia Founder and CEO Ramachandran Viswanathan as its President and CEO, announced this month it would put together a small constellation of satellites to power 5G from space – especially to provide connectivity to remote areas where terrestrial mobile network does not work.
“We are forging ahead in the delivery of truly mobile 5G connectivity solutions from space. Our network will leverage harmonised 2 GHz spectrum to bring the power of 5G to users and industries around the globe,” Viswanathan said in a statement early February while announcing the closure of a $60-million funding deal for the firm’s satellite services business.
Omnispace plans to put in place a smaller constellation of around 200 satellites — 15 in middle earth orbit and others in low earth orbit — to provide 5G services. This is similar to the Starlink project of SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, which aims at putting up a constellation of over 1,000 satellites for seamless 5G broadband communication in corners of the world that are not serviced by telecom networks.
Omnispace was launched in 2012 in the US shortly after the Devas Multimedia satellite deal with ISRO’s Antrix Corporation was scrapped in 2011 by the Indian government citing security reasons. Recently, Antrix sought liquidation of Devas Multimedia on the grounds it perpetrated a fraud in connivance with former Antrix officials to bag the satellite deal in 2005.
Omnispace currently has an unused satellite from a private UK firm and has signed deals for the manufacture and launch of two more satellites. The F2, a middle earth orbit satellite which has been unused since launch in 2001 by ICO Global Communications – a firm in which VSNL invested in the the 1990s (prior to Tata Communications’ purchase of VSNL) – is already in space.
