The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly scrapped its earlier proposal to restrict the number of customers satellite communication providers could onboard. Instead, the government will impose capacity-based limits, meaning a satcom operator can add as many users as its authorised capacity, approved by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), can support. Any request to expand that capacity will now require fresh permissions.
The change follows concerns raised by industry and legal experts over the practicality of policing customer caps. A final decision will be taken when satcom firms seek capacity enhancements.
At the same time, the DoT has written back to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommending that satcom spectrum pricing be increased to 5 per cent of adjusted gross revenue, instead of the 4 per cent the regulator had proposed. It has also said that subsidies from the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) cannot be used to fund satellite terminals, despite TRAI’s suggestion to support devices costing Rs 20,000 – Rs 50,000 to boost adoption. Officials argue that DBN does not have a mechanism for direct subsidy disbursal.
While the government wants to promote satellite connectivity, especially for rural and remote regions, it is also addressing concerns raised by telecom operators, who fear that satcom services could indirectly enter the retail mobile broadband space by using low-cost administratively allocated spectrum.
The earlier DoT proposal sought to cap the number of customers being served under administratively allotted spectrum and revise allocation terms if customer numbers grew. TRAI, however, noted that satcom network capacities in India, at 0.6-3 terabit per second (Tbps), are far smaller than those of terrestrial networks, making fears of revenue cannibalisation unfounded.
Satcom companies must obtain IN-SPACe approval for any increase in satellite capacity before submitting it to DoT for corresponding spectrum assignment. Initially, the centre will allocate spectrum only for fixed-location data and internet services, with no mobile connectivity permitted for now.
