Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has signed an agreement with UK-based global satellite service provider, Inmarsat to offer satellite-based broadband services in India. BSNL has already taken the required licence from the Department of Telecommunications and identified Ghaziabad as location for setting up the satellite gateway, which will entail an investment of $8 million.

With this gateway, BSNL will be able to offer satellite-based broadband services using Inmarsat technologies in remote areas of the country and will also be able to meet the telecom requirements of the Defence forces.

Earlier, Inmarsat was operating in India through a partnership with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL). But this service was practically shut down after the Indian government divested majority stake in VSNL to the Tata Group.