KOUROU: Kourou spaceport launching the satellite from French Guiana — BBC NEW DELHI, Dec 05 (BBC): India's heaviest satellite has gone into orbit on a French rocket to help boost broadband internet services.
Weighing about 5,854kg (12,906lb), the GSAT-11 is India's "most-advanced" multi-band communication satellite.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched the satellite from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana early on Wednesday morning.
It will be placed in a geostationary orbit by the end of this month and its transponders will be switched on.
Isro chief K Sivan told reporters that the satellite will "play a vital role in providing broadband services across the country".
Scientists say it will provide internet access to "off-grid" remote areas in India - hills and islands, for example - where traditional fixed-line broadband services are not available and would be helpful during emergencies and disaster relief.
And it will also help provide internet connectivity during air travel in India.
India hired a French rocket to carry the satellite, which is expected to have a life span of 15 years, because it does not have a rocket to carry such a heavy payload.
There are more than 440 million internet users in India, and the number is expected to double by 2022.
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