India’s turn to foreign LEO satcom for tele-education advances connectivity goals but raises strategic, cyber, and governance concerns, highlighting the need for a resilient mix of indigenous satellite and fibre-based digital education infrastructure
Starlink India, the subsidiary of the global low-Earth-orbit internet service provider of the same name, has recently signed two non-formal, legally non-binding agreements with the state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The underlying theme of the letters of intent is the use of Starlink’s last-mile connectivity to provide a telecommunications backbone for state school education programmes and to connect schools in remote districts within their respective jurisdictions. These initiatives align with the broader national objective of bridging the digital divide and narrowing the urban–rural gap, as well as the more specific goal of transforming classrooms in rural India into digital learning spaces. While these aspirations—and the efforts of these and other state governments—are commendable, the choice of the device intended to enable this transformation raises serious concerns.
These initiatives align with the broader national objective of bridging the digital divide and narrowing the urban–rural gap, as well as the more specific goal of transforming classrooms in rural India into digital learning spaces.
India, along with many countries, had embarked on offering satellite communication connectivity to schools, then referred to as tele-education, well before the 2G era and the onset of India’s well-regarded digital revolution. For a long time, tele-education relied on geostationary satellite communication systems, while low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations are a relatively recent development. In Europe, the Eutelsat Konnect very high-throughput satellite exclusively offers high-speed broadband connections of 100 Mbps and above to schools in rural and mountainous regions, from Scotland to Greece and deep in the Alps and Pyrenees. The Luxembourg-based satellite manufacturer SES operates the Astra series of satellites, which cater exclusively to digital video broadcasting for rural schools in Germany, Ireland, and Eastern Europe.
Starlink, too, operates in Europe, but the region has embarked on ensuring its satellite communications sovereignty through the currently developing Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) programme, a medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) constellation, eventually creating its own satcom option apart from existing GEO-based systems. IRIS² is expected to comprise 290 satellites and is touted to become Europe’s primary sovereign ‘backbone’ for school satellite connectivity by 2030, reducing dependence on non-European Union (EU) providers.
European countries have a substantial dedicated budget for digital connectivity in rural schools. The United Kingdom (UK) allocated £45 million in 2025 for digital connectivity in schools through its Connect the Classroom programme. The fund is used for Wi-Fi upgrades and the laying of optical-fibre cables. Where fibre-based connectivity is not available, there is an option for the fully funded installation of high-speed satellite terminals, with providers such as Eutelsat and Starlink competing in this segment.
Spain’s ÚNICO Rural Demand programme seeks to offer an affordable high-speed 100 Mbps broadband connection to all rural public schools. It covers up to 100 percent of the total satellite terminal installation cost, capped at €600, in regions that cannot receive optical fibre connectivity, particularly in high-mountain areas such as Teruel and the Pyrenees.
India is a global pioneer of tele-education. In 1975–76, ISRO’s Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) connected 2,400 Indian villages across six states, becoming the largest sociological experiment of its kind.
Germany has a €5 billion budget for digital education infrastructure, of which over €2.9 billion is allocated to broadband infrastructure. A satellite option is offered in regions where laying optical fibre cables is environmentally prohibited or financially difficult. France, too, currently provides between €150 and €600 to rural schools under its Cohésion Numérique des Territoires scheme. While the IRIS² infrastructure is being developed, EU member states may use their European Regional Development Fund to upgrade digital infrastructure in schools and begin testing the IRIS² testbed.
India is a global pioneer of tele-education. In 1975–76, ISRO’s Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) connected 2,400 Indian villages across six states, becoming the largest sociological experiment of its kind. Tele-education formed a core component of SITE. In 2004, ISRO launched the GSAT-3 communication satellite, also known as EDUSAT, which became the first to provide interactive distance education through interactive terminals and classroom receive-only teaching terminals. Educational bodies such as the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), state education boards, and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) benefited from EDUSAT. At its peak, EDUSAT had a geographic reach spanning 26 states and three Union Territories; it connected nearly 56,000 classrooms, with approximately 51,000 receive-only terminals and nearly 5,000 interactive terminals, reaching an estimated 25 million students each year. Both national and state governments continue to operate numerous free-to-air educational live channels. The Central Government’s PM e-Vidya and SWAYAM Prabha, the Kerala Government’s Versatile ICT Enabled Resource for Students (VICTERS) channel, the Gujarat Government’s Vande Gujarat channels, and channels run by the University Grants Commission (UGC) all offer GSAT-based educational programming from primary school through postgraduate levels.
India has a mature, well-established, and heavily subsidised tele-education system, supported by proven GSAT satellites in geostationary orbit. Satellites go where optical fibre cannot, and this principle should guide efforts to bridge the digital divide in the country. Accordingly, while there is growing interest in the potential of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, that interest should be channelled towards the development of indigenously built and secure LEO or even medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) constellations.
India has a mature, well-established, and heavily subsidised tele-education system, supported by proven GSAT satellites in geostationary orbit.
India’s central and state governments, despite vendors’ repeated insistence, must recognise that tele-education will remain secure if it is based on an indigenous mix of geostationary satellites for last-mile connectivity and the expansion of terrestrial optical fibre and next-generation communication networks. The fascination with integrating tele-education with non-indigenous and untrusted LEO satcom constellations opens up new vulnerabilities; a risk recognised by both Europe and China.
The LEO constellation is a telecommunications device and must be vetted against all parameters in line with the Telecommunications Act, 2023, concerning the ‘sovereignty, integrity, and security of India’. Any dependence on foreign networks will create a single point of failure if the operator chooses to do so. In chronic grey-zone warfare scenarios, to which India is highly vulnerable, foreign devices could be used to undermine the national education system. These are some of the threats emanating from ‘untrusted satcom/telecom devices’ and are consistent with the advisory released by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team:
School education, bridging the digital divide, and equitable access to the internet are core developmental priorities, and both state and central governments, together with trusted device suppliers, are committed to advancing these objectives. However, the assumption that these well-intentioned initiatives are inherently immune to harm and free of national security implications would carry serious consequences. Schools are widely recognised as vulnerable not only to physical attacks but also to hybrid warfare, subversion, and ideological targeting—often aimed at inflicting maximum psychological and social harm. Such risks can intensify if digital networks remain unsecured. India’s education system should therefore be treated as the ‘sanctum sanctorum’ of national life, requiring simultaneous nurturing and protection, to ensure the country does not once again fall into a technological ‘Macaulay Trap’.
Chaitanya Giri is a Fellow at the Centre for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Dr. Chaitanya Giri is a Fellow at ORF’s Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology. His work focuses on India’s space ecosystem and its interlinkages with ...
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