New Delhi: Indian Army, in collaboration with Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), a wholly government-owned broadband infrastructure provider company worked towards providing internet services to the troops stationed in Siachen at a height of 19,061 feet.

The Indian Army September 18 reached a milestone by activating satellite broadband service at the highest battlefield in the world, the Siachen glacier, located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas.

Indian Army’s Fire & Fury Corps which is deployed to guard the Siachen glacier informed about the development which will help increase the efficiency of communication and subsequent operations along the treacherous terrain and enemy border.

“#IndianArmy “Always Through” Satellite based internet service activated on the #SiachenGlacier at 19,061 feet, the World’s Highest Battlefield, by the Siachen Signallers.” tweeted the official handle of Fire & Fury Corps, also called XIV Corps.

Currently, BBNL is working under its Bharat Net scheme to provide internet connectivity through satellites to rural remote areas which includes 7,000 gram panchayats. According to government data, over 4,000 of these gram panchayats have already been commissioned.

While the government is working on using satellite broadband to make connectivity easier, other private entities have also entered the market. Using ISRO’s Ku-band capacity of GSAT-11 and GSAT-29 satellites, it has promised to deliver high-speed satellite broadband services to remote locations across India.

Through the HTS technology, the company is already providing assistance to the Indian Army, and paramilitary forces patrolling the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and other remote border outposts.