The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has provisionally allocated satellite spectrum to eligible companies for six months, facilitating testing for firms such as Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm, Orbit Connect India.
This allocation is contingent upon the companies having secured licenses from the DoT and obtaining the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) authorisation certificates. Currently, only OneWeb and the Jio-SES partnership meet these requirements, while competitors like Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have not yet received the necessary approvals to operate in India.
The provisional spectrum will allow these companies to demonstrate compliance with security and technical standards, however, they are prohibited from charging consumers during this testing phase as commercial rollout is not permitted. Notably, there are no restrictions on the number of customers they can serve during this period, enabling extensive service trials.
Previously, the DoT had allocated demo spectrum to OneWeb for 90 days to assess its network capabilities. The department is expected to consider full-spectrum allocation for commercial use once the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) provides recommendations on pricing and other essential modalities.
The allocation of satellite spectrum has sparked disagreements among industry players. Reliance Jio has urged TRAI to revise its consultation paper on satellite spectrum, arguing it fails to address the need for a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial networks. Jio and Vodafone Idea Limited support an auction-based approach for spectrum allocation, while Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and other satcom players prefer direct allocations.
