Telecom operators are reportedly preparing to challenge the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recent recommendation that satellite and terrestrial broadband services are complementary, not competing, and therefore do not require a level playing field in spectrum pricing. The response is being coordinated through the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), following a draft circulated among its members.
TRAI’s recommendation to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on satellite spectrum pricing highlighted the significant disparity in capacity, ranging from 60:1 to 250:1, in favour of terrestrial networks, suggesting no grounds for competitive overlap. However, telcos argue that this assessment underestimates satellite capabilities and disregards data they had submitted during the consultation process, including inputs from telecom companies already offering satellite services.
Operators further argue that satellite providers are not legally restricted to remote or underserved regions, and TRAI itself permits satellite broadband in urban areas, with an additional Rs 500 per user per year fee. This undermines the claim that satellite services are niche and purely complementary.
Telcos also object to the administrative pricing mechanism, stressing that terrestrial operators face significant financial burdens, including spectrum payments via auctions and an effective revenue share of Rs 18 to Rs 20 per Rs 100 earned. Satellite operators, they claim, enjoy a regulatory and cost advantage by bypassing these obligations.
