The competition arising from LEO satellite broadband and the fifth-generation or 5G network technology will enable affordable access to the internet and digital services for end-users in India, according to a top executive of DE-CIX.

DE-CIX is a Germany-based carrier- and data-center-neutral internet exchange point, while in India, its internet exchange points are present in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.

“The competition (in urban areas) will lead to the result that private and business users at the end will get even more reasonable commercial solution and more reasonable costs such as the cost of access to the internet and digital services,” CEO of DE-CIX International, Ivo Ivanov told ETTelecom during an interaction.

At the same time, satellite broadband will provide a fillip to internet access in rural areas of the country, he added.

Having said this, Ivanov believes satellite operators and telecom operators vying for 5G will collaborate or compete in some areas, depending on business models as well as their competitive approach.

One area for collaboration, according to him, is the use of LEO satellite infrastructure as a “strong backbone” for 5G coverage from space.

“I think this will lead to more offerings on the market, boost up further innovation and create more affordable fees on the internet access for the end-users, especially in regions where the economic power of the population is not strong enough to pay fees at the higher end for access to the internet,” he said.

To be sure, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) last month cleared 5G trials which will allow telcos like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea to develop use cases for the next-generation technology. The trials will last six months.

On the other hand, private players like OneWeb (co-owned by Bharti Global and the UK government), Elon Musk’s SpaceX Technologies, and Hughes Communications India, US satellite company Hughes Network Systems’ local arm, are competing neck-and-neck to take lead in launching satellite broadband services in the country.

Sunil Mittal has previously told ET that OneWeb plans to offer satellite broadband services in India by May/June 2022.