DoT approves recommendations made by TRAI for Satcom

TRAI has also favoured a subsidy for Satcom user terminals in unserved/underserved regions of rural and remote areas

The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) has approved most of the recommendations made by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to allocate spectrum for satellite communications (Satcom) services, sources said on Tuesday.However, the services cannot be rolled out without the allocation of spectrum and the second stage of security clearance from the national security agencies, sources have said.DCC, formerly Telecom Commission, is the apex decision-making body at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The latest decision will pave the way for global Satcom companies including Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Industries’ Jio Satellite Communications, and permission to start Satcom services in the country.All these companies have been granted the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licenses to offer services in the country.TRAI recommendation“DCC in its meeting held on September 3, has approved majority of the recommendations made by TRAI on Satcom spectrum last year...it should go to the Cabinet for the final approval soon,” a government source aware of the meeting said.TRAI in May last year had recommended that Satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for five years, which can be extended by another two years and added that a levy of 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as a fee on Satcom service providers. However, DoT was of the view of levying 5 per cent instead of 4 per cent.Starlink and Amazon’s subsidiary Kuiper Systems, during consultations with the TRAI had urged to keep spectrum charge below 1 per cent of AGR with no other charges.AGR spectrum chargeThe four per cent of the AGR spectrum charge would be for both geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) operators and these would be subject to a minimum annual spectrum charge of ₹3,500 per MHz, the TRAI had recommended.The sector regulator in its recommendations to the DoT had also said that operators offering services in urban areas, would have to shell out an additional ₹500 per subscriber, annually, but no additional levy would be applicable to services in rural areas.TRAI has also favoured a subsidy for Satcom user terminals in unserved/ underserved regions of rural and remote areas (typically one-time hardware cost ranges between ₹.20,000-50,000), as high cost could be a barrier to adoption of such services in such areas.Also, once approved a single satellite constellation can offer just 10,000-20,000 connections in areas like Delhi against a requirement of 50 lakh broadband connections.Published on September 8, 2026