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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Satcom spectrum allocation rules likely to be in place within two months
New Delhi: Rules for the allocation of spectrum for satellite communications services are likely to be in place within two months, a government official said on Monday. The spectrum allocation rules are the last lap that will enable Elon Musk-led Starlink , Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat Oneweb and Jio SES to apply for the radiowaves and start rolling out their services. "Spectrum allocation rules are likely to be fixed in two months. After that, it will be at the discretion of satcom services when they want to roll out their services," the official said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the government should allocate spectrum without auction and through an administrative process-- a move that has seen huge resistance from telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel initially. The regulator has suggested that spectrum for satcom services can be for a period of up to five years and considering the market conditions, the government may extend it for a further period of up to two years. Trai has suggested that spectrum charges for both GSO-based and Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Fixed Satellite Services should be levied at 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). OneWeb and Starlink fall into the LEO (low earth orbit) category which are considered to be Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites. Besides, NGSO-based Fixed Satellite service providers should also pay an additional per subscriber charge of ₹500 per annum in urban areas while exempting the rural and remote areas from this additional charge. While allaying the threat to land-based telecom networks from satcom services, Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said that Musk-led satellite communication services provider Starlink can have only 20 lakh connections in India with a peak speed of 200 megabits per second. A government official mentioned that the limit on Starlink connections is due to its existing capacity. The minister said that the upfront cost for satcom services will be too high and the monthly cost may be around ₹3,000. PTI
New Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Govt to allocate satellite spectrum for five years; to charge AGR at 4%
Currently, India has two players: Bharti-backed Eutelsat Oneweb and Jio Satellite Communication, which have been granted a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence to operate in India. The DoT issued a letter of intent to Elon Musk-led Starlink on Tuesday, and now the company needs to submit all the required documents within next 21 days, including the licence fee and approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the space regulator. According to the recommendation, the TRAI has proposed that both GSO and NGSO-based FSS operators will be required to pay 4% AGR, with a minimum annual charge of `3,500 per MHz spectrum block. Additionally, operators offering services in urban areas would have to shell out `500 per subscriber annually. TRAI said spectrum to be assigned in Ku, Ka, and Q/V bands, with IMT bands (e.g., 42.5–43.5 GHz) only allowed in remote/uninhabited areas. The services must be commissioned within 12 months of approval. The TRAI chairman also said the government may consider the provision of a subsidy for NGSO-based FSS user terminals for rural or remote areas. He argued that the one-time hardware cost ranges between 20,000 to 50,000, given the low purchasing power of consumers in rural area this can become a barrier. In recent months, Jio and Airtel had joined forces to lobby for an auction process to allocate spectrum for satellite services in India. In contrast, Musk advocated for an administrative allocation in line with international norms. Last October, the government sided with Musk's approach, opting for a pre-determined price for the airwaves used to deliver low-latency internet via satellite.
Business Standard
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
TRAI releases Recommendations on Terms and Conditions for Assignment of Spectrum for Certain Satellite-Based Commercial Communication Services
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released Recommendations on 'Terms and Conditions for the Assignment of Spectrum for Certain Satellite-Based Commercial Communication Services'. TRAI had issued a consultation paper on 'Terms and Conditions for the Assignment of Spectrum for Certain Satellite-Based Commercial Communication Services' on 27.09.2024 for seeking comments and counter comments from stakeholders on 21 issues raised in the consultation paper. In response to the issues raised in the consultation paper, 30 stakeholders furnished comments, and 12 stakeholders furnished counter comments. Based on the comments received from stakeholders during the consultation process, and further analysis, TRAI has finalized its Recommendations on 'Terms and Conditions for the Assignment of Spectrum for Certain Satellite-Based Commercial Communication Services'. Salient points of the recommendations are given below: For assigning frequency spectrum for user links and feeder links for non-geostationary orbit or NGSO-based Fixed Satellite Service or FSS for data communication and Internet service, frequency spectrum in Ku band, Ka band, and Q/V band should be considered. For assigning frequency spectrum for geostationary orbit (GSO)/NGSO-based Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) for providing voice, text, data communication and Internet service, the following frequency bands should be considered: L band and S band for user links; and C band, Ku band, Ka band and Q/V band for feeder links. Frequency spectrum should be assigned for NGSO-based FSS and GSO/ NGSO-based MSS for a period of up to five years. However, considering the market conditions, the Government may extend it for a further period of up to two years. Terms and conditions including prices for the spectrum assignment for NGSO-based FSS and GSO/ NGSO-based MSS, recommended through these recommendations, should remain valid for a period of five years from the date of notification of the policy regime by the Central Government, further extendable by a period of upto two years. Any revision in the terms and conditions including prices for the spectrum assignment for NGSO based FSS and GSO/ NGSO based MSS, notified by the Central Government after a period of five years from the date of notification of the policy regime recommended through these recommendations, should become applicable to all authorised entities including the existing entities.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Satcom companies urge DoT for quick spectrum allotment
Kolkata: The satcom industry has urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to speed up provisional allotment of satellite spectrum, a move that will allow Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES combine--which have government clearance--to introduce satellite internet commercially in broadband services have not started in the country as the government is waiting for the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to finalise the rules on pricing and method of spectrum allocation. The Indian Space Association (ISpA) and the Broadband India Forum (BIF), in separate letters to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal, have said satcom players with licences and authorisations can be mandated to give an undertaking that spectrum charges decided under India's final satcom spectrum allotment policy will apply to them from the date of such provisional assignment for commercial usage. ET has reviewed the letters. This would also be in the interest of the exchequer, the associations said. They pointed out that the delay in spectrum allotment is leading to wastage of satellite resources and financial loss, especially since satellite resources have a limited life span of 5-7 years only. 'Despite having the requisite licences and authorisations for provisioning of foreign satellite capacity in India, as well as the constellations and ground infrastructure in place, some non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite operators are still unable to launch commercial services in India due to lack of frequency assignment,' ISpA, a grouping of space and satellite companies, which includes Eutelsat OneWeb, said in their April 16 letter to the DoT secretary. The NGSO operators are companies that offer satellite communications via low-earth orbit (LEO) and medium-earth orbit (MEO) constellations. ISpA and BIF have not specifically named any satcom companies in their letters, but Eutelsat OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES combine are the only NGSO operators who have the statutory authorisations from Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) licences from DoT to start commercial satellite internet services in India. In its letter, ISpA said allowing NGSO-based operators to offer commercial services using provisional spectrum assignment would enable them to put their satcom infrastructure, or satellite resources and ground infrastructure, to use and recover their investments. 'There are already precedents, even as recent as the assignment of E-band spectrum in 2022 on a provisional basis, pending final guidelines,' ISpA said. In its April 21 letter, the BIF has called on the government to extend the scope of the rules issued in October 2024 for provisional assignment of spectrum to enable NGSO licencees to demonstrate compliance with requisite security and technical parameters. 'We request the government to consider extending the scope of these provisional spectrum assignments to permit such operators to offer commercial services till regular assignments are done,' BIF president TV Ramachandran said in the letter. The BIF, an independent tech policy forum, counts satellite biggies such as Eutelsat-OneWeb, Amazon, Hughes and Viasat among its members. According to the tech forum, the delay in offering commercial satcom services is creating a significant opportunity cost for both consumers and the industry . 'While (satcom) spectrum assignment and the pricing framework are under finalisation, the delay is resulting in underutilisation of satellite assets, imposing significant strain on the NGSO operators,' said Ramachandran. Both ISpA and BIF also underlined the capital-intensive nature of the satcom sector, noting that manufacturing and establishing constellations is a very expensive process. Accordingly, they believe it's critical for satellite operators to monetise their resources in a timely manner, especially since NGSO satellite resources have a limited life span. 'Allowing operators to undertake an early rollout of commercial satcom services, using provisional spectrum assignment, would enable them to put their ready satellite infrastructure in India to use and recover their investments,' ISpA director general AK Bhatt said. Apart from Eutelsat OnWeb and Jio-SES combine, India's nascent satcom market has attracted US billionaire Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon, Elon Musk's Starlink, and US-based Globalstar. The applications of Starlink and Amazon-Kuiper, among others, are pending. India's space economy is projected to have a potential to hit $44 billion by 2033 and account for about 8% of the global share, as per national space regulator, IN-SPACe.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Satcom companies urge DoT for quick spectrum allotment
Kolkata: The satcom industry has urged the Department of Telecommunications ( DoT ) to speed up provisional allotment of satellite spectrum, a move that will allow Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES combine-which have government clearance-to introduce satellite internet commercially in India. Satellite broadband services have not started in the country as the government is waiting for the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to finalise the rules on pricing and method of spectrum allocation. The Indian Space Association (ISpA) and the Broadband India Forum (BIF), in separate letters to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal, have said satcom players with licences and authorisations can be mandated to give an undertaking that spectrum charges decided under India's final satcom spectrum allotment policy will apply to them from the date of such provisional assignment for commercial usage. ET has reviewed the letters. This would also be in the interest of the exchequer, the associations said. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Breaks His Silence: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo They pointed out that the delay in spectrum allotment is leading to wastage of satellite resources and financial loss, especially since satellite resources have a limited life span of 5-7 years only. "Despite having the requisite licences and authorisations for provisioning of foreign satellite capacity in India, as well as the constellations and ground infrastructure in place, some non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite operators are still unable to launch commercial services in India due to lack of frequency assignment," ISpA, a grouping of space and satellite companies, which includes Eutelsat OneWeb, said in their April 16 letter to the DoT secretary. The NGSO operators are companies that offer satellite communications via low-earth orbit (LEO) and medium-earth orbit (MEO) constellations. Live Events ISpA and BIF have not specifically named any satcom companies in their letters, but Eutelsat OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES combine are the only NGSO operators who have the statutory authorisations from Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) licences from DoT to start commercial satellite internet services in India. In its letter, ISpA said allowing NGSO-based operators to offer commercial services using provisional spectrum assignment would enable them to put their satcom infrastructure, or satellite resources and ground infrastructure, to use and recover their investments. "There are already precedents, even as recent as the assignment of E-band spectrum in 2022 on a provisional basis, pending final guidelines," ISpA said. In its April 21 letter, the BIF has called on the government to extend the scope of the rules issued in October 2024 for provisional assignment of spectrum to enable NGSO licencees to demonstrate compliance with requisite security and technical parameters. "We request the government to consider extending the scope of these provisional spectrum assignments to permit such operators to offer commercial services till regular assignments are done," BIF president TV Ramachandran said in the letter.
