Growth-enabling regulatory and economic framework required for satcom

Eutelsat-OneWeb, backed by Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal, has sought a growth-enabling regulatory and economic framework, even as the carrier along with Jio-SES and US-based Starlink readies for launch following spectrum allocation.

 

Eutelsat-OneWeb’s VP for APAC operations, Neha Idnani, said that regulatory clarity was critical for the adoption of satellite broadband services and for more investment into these technologies and services in India.

 

“The economic value of satcom (satellite communications) is not going to come from the likes of spectrum monetisation or licence fees but from digital inclusion,” she said at the India International Space Conclave on Tuesday, adding that the company was ready to offer its services in the Indian market, having deployed it globally in several countries.

 

The senior executive added that satellite broadband was a complementary service to terrestrial networks and would serve use cases where terrestrial networks — either technically, or for security requirements, or commercially — cannot be used as the primary mode of communication due to disasters or geopolitical environments.

 

Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the government body that regulates and promotes space activities in the country, said that Starlink, OneWeb and Jio-SES were ready to launch commercial services once the telecom regulator and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) finalised spectrum assignment. He added that applications of Amazon’s Kuiper and Globalstar, the satellite partner for Apple, were being reviewed.

 

As things stand, DoT has sent back some recommendations of Trai on satellite spectrum allocation to the regulator, including a relook at charging an additional Rs 500 per year from service providers in urban areas due to unclear demarcation between urban and rural. DoT has also sought review of the recommendation of Rs 3,500 per MHz annual spectrum charge on a minimum basis for geostationary orbit and non-geostationary orbit, fixed and mobile satellite services, on grounds that the amount was too low and may not prevent hoarding of the asset, which is otherwise a scarce resource.