Satcom spectrum allocation rules likely to be in place within two months

Rules for the allocation of spectrum for satellite communications services are likely to be in place within two months, a government official said on Monday.

The spectrum allocation rules are the last lap that will enable Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat Oneweb and Jio SES to apply for the radiowaves and start rolling out their services.

"Spectrum allocation rules are likely to be fixed in two months. After that, it will be at the discretion of satcom services when they want to roll out their services," the official said.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the government should allocate spectrum without auction and through an administrative process-- a move that has seen huge resistance from telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel initially.

The regulator has suggested that spectrum for satcom services can be for a period of up to five years and considering the market conditions, the government may extend it for a further period of up to two years.

Trai has suggested that spectrum charges for both GSO-based and Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Fixed Satellite Services should be levied at 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

OneWeb and Starlink fall into the LEO (low earth orbit) category which are considered to be Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites. Besides, NGSO-based Fixed Satellite service providers should also pay an additional per subscriber charge of Rs 500 per annum in urban areas while exempting the rural and remote areas from this additional charge.

While allaying the threat to land-based telecom networks from satcom services, Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said that Musk-led satellite communication services provider Starlink can have only 20 lakh connections in India with a peak speed of 200 megabits per second.

A government official mentioned that the limit on Starlink connections is due to its existing capacity.

The minister said that the upfront cost for satcom services will be too high and the monthly cost may be around Rs 3,000.