According to two people familiar with the development, the panel within the ministry, approved a 5 per cent spectrum usage charge on annual adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of the companies offering the services, which will be discounted to 4 per cent in rural or remote areas. Spectrum will be given for five years, with an extension possibility of two years.
“The decision will have to be ratified by an inter-ministerial panel and then by the Cabinet. Security clearances and foreign direct investment (FDI) clearance will also be required before any of the licence-holders can begin their services,” a senior official said. Pricing of the airwaves that will be granted on an administrative basis will also have to be decided for commercial services to begin.
Trai had given its recommendations over eight months ago. These included proposals like setting the AGR charge at 4 per cent plus an annual fee of ~500 per urban subscriber for NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit) satellite services, alongside subsidising user terminals for rural and remote areas through the Digital Bharat Nidhi fund. These were not accepted by DoT largely due to the absence of frameworks for executing both the proposals.
France’s Eutelsat Oneweb, US-based SpaceX’s Starlink, and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm Jio Satellite are existing holders of Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite licence, while Amazon Leo is awaiting approval for its own. While Eutelsat Oneweb and Jio Satellite would not need FDI clearance, Starlink and Amazon Leo would require the same, said the official. DCC’s approval offers much-needed regulatory clarity for firms awaiting the decision since last year, after having built their satellites, earth stations, and other equipment over the past two to three years.
Queries sent to DoT did not elicit a response till press time.
“The approval removes a key regulatory hurdle for satellite broadband in India. A 5 per cent spectrum usage charge, reduced to 4 per cent for rural and remote areas, is a pragmatic approach that balances government revenue with the economics of a capital-intensive business. The five-year spectrum tenure also provides operators greater investment certainty. The bigger game now is the execution, how quickly the players can scale coverage, and make satellite broadband affordable beyond underserved markets,” said Vinish Bawa, leader of telecom practice at PwC India.
Satellite broadband services are yet to begin in India, where the market opportunity is expected to be large. India’s satellite communication (satcom) market size was valued at $3.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $6.3 billion by 2034, according to a report by the IMARC group.
Experts said that although satellite broadband will facilitate remote telemedicine and digital education, the majority of use cases will originate from the enterprise sector.
 "Satellite Internet in India")