Artist rendition of the Thaicom 8 satellite. Photo: Thaicom

Thaicom has a made a key regulatory breakthrough in India. Its subsidiary Ipstar India has obtained an authorization to provide satellite services with Thaicom satellites in India from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe).

IN-SPACe is an autonomous nodal agency under Department of Space, Government of India to promote, enable, authorize and supervise non-government entities (NGE) to undertake space activities. Thaicom announced the authorization on Dec. 6.

Under the new Indian space policy, IN-SPACe has authorized Ipstar India to provide satellite-related services using existing Thaicom satellites, Thaicom 4 and Thaicom 8. The agency also granted an authorization for Thaicom’s new satellite Thaicom 9, the next-generation satellite with software-defined high throughput technology built by Astranis and set for launch in 2025.

“This marks a significant milestone for Thaicom, since we have remained dedicated to India as our strategic market. Thaicom has been providing satellite services to the Indian market since 1997, and we are committed to serving India in the long term. We are convinced that our extensive knowledge in the satellite industry and commitment to broadband service delivery will enable us to meet India’s insatiable demand for broadband connectivity,” Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom’s CEO, said in a statement.