In a bid to further liberalise the sector, the government will soon introduce an “open sky” policy for VSAT operators, allowing them to directly negotiate and hire satellite bandwidth from foreign and domestic players, including the Indian Space Research Organisation.
The government is also reportedly likely to allow VSAT players to operate in the KA band, in addition to waiving service tax for 10 years for rural connections. The changes are likely to be introduced in the NTP, expected to be in place by early 2006. Under the present policy, VSAT operators cannot hire transponder space on foreign satellites directly, but must do so via the Department of Space, which hires transponder space from abroad and sells it to them. The government is also set to revamp the current licensing procedures for satellite networks.
