VSAT as an Alternate Source of Internet Connectivity in Remote Areas of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Satellites for communication services have evolved quite significantly in size and power since the launch of the first commercial satellites in 1965. This has permitted a consequent reduction in the size of earth stations, and hence their cost, with a consequent increase in number. Small stations, with antennas in the order of 1.2–1.8 m, have become very popular under the acronym VSAT, which stands for ’Very Small Aperture Terminals’. Such stations can easily be installed at the customer’s premises and, considering the inherent capability of a satellite to collect and broadcast signals over large areas, are being widely used to support a large range of services. Examples are broadcast and distribution services for data, image, audio and video, collection and monitoring for data, image and video, two-way interactive services for computer transactions, data base inquiry, internet access and voice communications. As Arunachal Pradesh is located in highly terrain, almost places are very remote. So, VSAT is only the alternate source of internet connectivity.