Companies may require fresh licence for providing satcom services in India

Existing licence-holding satcom players unsure whether new authorisation would be automatic

Companies will again have to go through the application and approval process for beginning satcom services in India, according to people in the know.

 

Current rules mandate that satellite communications providers hold two licences to offer satellite-based broadband services in India: They are “Very Small Aperture Terminal Closed User Group (VSAT-CUG)” and “Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite Services (GMPCS)”.

 

Last week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) brought out a consultation paper on network authorisation, asking the industry whether separate authorisation is needed for satcom services and for Satellite Earth Station Gateways in particular.

 

Industry insiders say there remains confusion on whether existing licence holders would automatically get the new licence or will have to begin afresh the application process.

 

“There is no clarity yet on licensing,” an official from a satcom service provider said.

 

The latest submission by Trai came after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked the regulator last month to consider separate authorisation for satellite communication.

 

Trai had last month proposed a new authorisation called “Satellite-based Telecommunication Service Authorisation” commercial satellite services, merging the erstwhile VSAT-CUG service and GMPCS licences.

 

Both the consultation papers have asked for stakeholder comments.

 

“The recommendations based on both the consultation papers would guide the way for satcom service authorisations,” a Trai official said.

 

Terrestrial vs satellite

 

The DoT has granted Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm Jio Space the GMPCS licence.

 

Jio Space is banking on a series of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites belonging to Luxembourg-based satellite telecommunications network provider SES.

 

Eutelsat Oneweb, created in September as the result of a merger between Oneweb and French satellite operator Eutelsat Communications, is banking on a combination of Geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO)-Low Earth Orbit (LEO) fleet of satellites.

 

The parent groups of both entities, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, remain opposed to foreign satcom providers such as United States tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon's subsidiary Project Kuiper entering the market to service key segments of the market.

 

Both Starlink and Project Kuiper’s application for the GMPCS licence have faced several hurdles. Key among these has been the company’s inability to comply with mandatory ownership disclosure norms put in place by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

 

They are awaiting security clearance from the country’s strategic establishment and the Indian National Promotion and Authorization Centre (In-SPACe), which acts as a “single-window” agency for facilitating space-sector business opportunities for startups and the private sector. Most importantly, they would need to acquire the spectrum necessary to offer its services.

 

Satellite or orbit spectrum is a segment of radio spectrum that is available when satellites are placed into orbit.

 

Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has asked the government to ensure all satcom providers abide by the same legal conditions that traditional telecom operators are subject to, such as paying licence fees and buying spectrum.

 

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio has urged Trai to ensure a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial services.

 

Traditional telcos have stressed those satellite companies that have the ambition to come to urban areas to serve “elite, retail customers” need to take the licence like telecom operators do.