By December 15, Trai will Finalise the Suggested Satcom Spectrum Allocation Rule

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Nov 20, 2024 — 2 min read

TRAI to Finalize Satcom Spectrum Allocation Rules by December 15

According to Anil Kumar Lahoti, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the organisation is expected to make its recommendations about spectrum assignment and satcom service price by December. Trai has examined all of the comments, rebuttals, and submissions from the industry following the open house discussion. After then, it will take us two months to arrive. Thus, Lahoti informed the media that at some point in December, Trai will be in a position to make its recommendations.

Additionally, he stated that before developing the suggestions, TRAI will consult the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) regulations, worldwide best practices, and stakeholder inputs. This occurs weeks after representatives of terrestrial and non-terrestrial network providers attended an open house discussion on satcom spectrum allotment hosted by TRAI.

Tug of War Between National and International Players

There were heated exchanges during the event as telcos like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel demanded that satcom spectrum be distributed through an auction to guarantee a "level playing field," while Jeff Bezos's Amazon Project Kuiper and Elon Musk's Starlink made the case for administrative satcom spectrum distribution.

This comes after Jyotiraditya Scindia, the minister of communications, stated last month that satellite service spectrum will be distributed administratively but at a "cost" that would be determined by TRAI following thorough discussions with relevant parties. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, the Minister of State (MoS) for communications, stated earlier this month that satcom should be viewed as an adjunct to terrestrial networks like 5G and 6G in order to close the digital gap and improve last-mile connectivity in India.

The director of Starlink Satellite Communications, Parnil Urdhwareshe, stated during the open house that Indian consumers desire satellite broadband services and that these "intelligent consumers" are entitled to select an operator that will offer them a high-quality, reasonably priced service. He noted that Starlink's website easily provides costs for any country and that the company takes pride in making satellite broadband accessible to those who have not yet had it.

Consultation Paper and its Aftermath

Notably, in September, TRAI released a consultation paper to investigate the process and cost of allocating spectrum to satcom firms. The study requested feedback on 21 topics, such as the process for calculating spectrum fees, satellite communications service frequency ranges, assignment duration, and provisions for spectrum surrender, among other things.

In response, telecom provider Reliance Jio sent several letters to TRAI requesting that the consultation paper on satcom spectrum distribution be withdrawn. The company said that the current paper "overlooks the critical point of ensuring" a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial services.