ISRO to build mobile satellite terminals on 1 lakh fishing boats

ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India is planning to install mobile satellite service terminals on at least one lakh fishing boats across nine states and four union territories. The network will assist in distributing emergency weather notifications and warning fishermen of infringements on international water border violations. The network would be powered by India's NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) satellite navigation system.

NewSpace India has started selecting private vendors to supply, install and commission MSS terminals for establishing vessel communication and support system in marine fishing vessels for monitoring, control and surveillance.

“The overall scope of work of the project includes establishment of a dedicated MSS satcom network for supporting emergency communication and tracking of maritime assets Xponders. This includes establishment of dedicated 9m/11m C-band ground station and hub baseband system, arranging for satellite bandwidth and guiding required service approvals and building satellite terminals for field deployment across nine coastal states and four union territories,” the company’s proposal document said.

The network would include specialised ground stations and satellite terminals for field deployment to increase national security and provide improved protection for fishermen in Indian waters. The coastal states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, and West Bengal will have these Xponders deployed.

Once the network is established, authorities will be able to form a two-way communication system with fishermen, access locations periodically, issue emergency weather alerts, issue alerts for international water border violations and also provide accurate navigation alerts.