Tragic Charm of ‘Digital Colonisation’ on Fragile States
As fragile states embrace satellite internet, digital connectivity risks turning from a tool of progress into a new form of colonisation.
The global satellite communications sector is projected to grow at a rate of 4 per cent from US$133 billion in 2023 to reach US$218 billion by 2035. This growth is largely from newly emerging sub-sectors, which include receivers, terminals and satcom chips, in-flight and maritime connectivity, consumer and business broadband, cellular backhaul and satellite radio - mostly stimulated by the shift of global telecommunications from terrestrial fifth generation (5G) to space-based sixth generation (6G) standards. It is but natural that stable polities, both developed and developing economies, where the rule of law prevails and states that are conscious about national and international security, are naturally endowed to become responsible end-users of this growing sector. However, when certain factions within politically and economically fragile states—whether the ruling establishment or opposition, vested commercial entities, or civil society—express eagerness for such satellite communications systems, especially at a time when civil unrest is brewing within them, it is an unsettling development.
Read the original and longer version of this Expert Speak on the Observer Research Foundation website through this weblink - https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/tragic-charm-of-digital-colonisation-on-fragile-states
