The Siachen Signallers activated satellite-based internet service on the on the Siachen Glacier, which happens to be the world’s highest battlefield, at 19,061 feet. At Siachen, where there is scarcity of oxygen due high altitude Indian Army has started a satellite-based service. Siachen is an extremely inaccessible area where living and surviving itself is a challenge. The satellite-based internet service, does not require any mobile tower or optical fiber cable. Internet Service Provider (ISP) sends signal to the satellite which sends the signal back to the Earth, which provides internet access. The same technology has been used in Siachen which is spread over an area of about 78 km near the Indo-Pak border, with Pakistan on one side and Aksai Chin on the other.
In 1984, Pakistan tried to occupy this area after which the Indian Army took possession of the Siachen Glacier by running a military operation. Ever since then, special troops of the Indian Army are stationed in this area. The Army has to maintain its deployment due to the strategic importance of this area. With no internet service in the area, even sending messages to the Army personnel deployed there was a difficult task. Now they will also be able to speak to their family members easily.
Bharat Boradband Network Limited, a government undertaking that is providing internet connectivity to the Army in Siachen, is the same agency that is responsible for the implementation of BharatNet project. There are a few private companies that are providing different satellite-based internet services to the Indian Army in sensitive places in border areas like eastern Ladakh.
