Latest news with #PemmasaniChandraSekhar


Time of India
5 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Starlink to have 20 lakh users in India at most, says government
NEW DELHI : Elon Musk-led satellite communication services provider Starlink can have only 20 lakh connections in India due to constraints over spectrum capacity, minister of state for telecom Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Monday, playing down any immediate threat to local telecom operators. He said the company is likely to opt for a monthly consumer broadband plan that may cost around Rs 3,000, much higher than the plans offered by companies such as Jio, Airtel, and BSNL , but still aggressive from a satcom perspective. Speaking on the sidelines of a review meeting of BSNL here, he said, 'Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services.' However, considering that the company's global customer footprint is to the tune of 50 lakh users, the Indian number will still be highly significant for the company if it hits peak. Satcom services are expected to target rural and remote areas, where BSNL is known to have a significant presence. A govt official mentioned that the limit on Starlink connections will be due to its existing network capacity. Starlink has a lowearth orbit constellation of 4,408 satellites, which orbit the earth at a distance of about 540-570 km. It is expected to have a 600 Gbps throughput over India. The company's authorisation is valid for five years or until constellation end. After receiving a satcom licence from DoT and satellite authorisation from INSPACe, Starlink will now begin to build ground infrastructure. It is planning to import equipment for which it will approach DoT for permissions. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now


Time of India
10 hours 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
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Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Satcom spectrum allocation rules likely to be in place within two months
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 PTI 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 Rs 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 Rs 3,000. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Starlink can give only 20 lakh connections pan-India: MoS Telecom
Billionaire Elon Musk-led satellite communication services provider Starlink can have only 20 lakh connections in India, Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Monday, playing down the threat to state-run BSNL and other telecom players. The Minister of State for Telecom was speaking on the sidelines of a review meeting of BSNL here. "Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services," the minister said. Satcom services are expected to target rural and remote areas where BSNL is known to have a significant presence. He said that the upfront cost for satcom services will be too high, and the monthly cost may be around ₹3,000. The minister said that the BSNL 4G rollout is complete, and it does not plan to increase tariffs as of now. "We want market first. There are no tariff hikes planned."


Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Satcom spectrum allocation rules likely to be in place within two months
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. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category others Data Science Others Management CXO Design Thinking PGDM Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Data Science Digital Marketing Project Management Healthcare Public Policy Operations Management Technology Data Analytics MBA Finance Degree healthcare Product Management Leadership MCA Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details "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. Live Events 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 Rs 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 Rs 3,000.