India must hold satellite 'kill switch', avoid reliance on one firm: Mittal
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has urged the Indian government to maintain control over satellite broadband 'kill switches' to ensure national security. He emphasized that relying on foreign operators for critical infrastructure could compromise India's space sovereignty.
Why it matters
The debate over satellite control reflects broader geopolitical concerns regarding digital infrastructure, national security, and the influence of private space companies.
Bharti Airtel Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said India must keep control of the "kill switch" for satellite communications on its own soil, as the government weighs security conditions that will decide when satellite broadband goes live."The kill switch, as we call it, should not be sitting somewhere else," Mittal said in an interview with PTI marking Bharti Enterprises' 50th year. "India must have control over its own space destiny." He did not name a company in that remark.The kill switch is the ability to cut off, throttle or restrict a satellite network's service, whether for a single terminal, a region or an entire country, from the operator's control systems and ground gateways.
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