December 12 2020: State-run Indian telecom leader,  BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, has  announced a breakthrough in satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrowband-Internet of Things). Which will benefit  fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises.
With this solution, India will now have access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices.|
This new solution which is indigenously developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNL’s satellite ground infrastructure and provide Pan-India coverage, including Indian seas. The coverage will  cover India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.
Says  P. K. Purwar, CMD, BSNL: “The solution is in line with BSNL’s vision to leverage technology to provide affordable and innovative telecom services and products across customers segments. Skylo would also help provide critical data for the logistics sector to enable effective distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 and will be a big contributor in service to the nation.”
Adds Parthsarathi Trivedi, CEO and Co-founder, Skylo: “For centuries, industries, including agriculture, railways and fisheries, have been operating offline, and have not had the opportunity to take full advantage of the latest advancements in AI& IoT - until today. This is the world's first satellite-based NB-IoT network and I am proud to launch this capability India first to transform lives and our domestic industries.”
Vivek Banzal, Director (CFA), BSNL Board clarified that successful Proof of concept has already been conducted by BSNL and Skylo in India and they  will soon approach various user groups before the New Year 2021.
A small, smart, i rugged box, the Skylo ‘User Terminal’ interfaces with sensors and transmits data to the Skylo Network and into people’s hands. The accompanying Data Platform provides an immersive, visual, experience for industry-specific applications on mobile or desktop. It gives users the ability to take immediate and appropriate action, no matter where they are. This new digital machine connectivity layer will serve as a complement to smartphone-centric mobile & Wi-Fi networks, and covers India’s full geography to bring online new applications for the first time. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pl see tech note on Narrowband Internet of Things  in our Image of the Day spot
___________________________________________________________________