TRAI to review stakeholder feedback on satellite spectrum

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will consider comments by all stakeholders on satellite spectrum but it is not considering retracting its consultation paper issued on the subject last month, said Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti on Wednesday.

Lahoti spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi a day after a debate on whether satellite spectrum should be auctioned was rekindled. “We are receiving multiple views, suggestions, inputs as part of the consultation process. It is common for TRAI to receive these, and then take a considered view. Whatever views TRAI takes, comes out in the public domain,” he said.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said on Tuesday the government should ensure that all satellite communication providers abide by the same legal conditions that traditional telecom operators are subjected to, including paying licence fees and buying spectrum. Reliance Jio urged TRAI to put out a revised paper on spectrum allocation for satellite communication, saying that the document ignores the key point of ensuring level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial services. Jio disagrees with the government’s recommendation of allocating satellite broadband spectrum.

Mittal’s comments triggered a debate on whether he was suggesting that the government should auction satellite spectrum, like it is done for terrestrial. Over the years, Jio has favoured auctioning satellite spectrum and Bharti Airtel opposed such suggestions. In a statement later on Tuesday after Mittal’s comments, Airtel said it remains consistent in its position that satellite spectrum should be allocated.

“Airtel has always maintained that it will use all technologies including satcom (satellite communication) to ensure that every nook and corner of the country is covered for high-speed broadband connectivity. This position remains consistent. Even six months back, Airtel had written a letter to the Department of Technology,” said Airtel. In that letter, the company supported the government’s move to include satellite communication in the ambit of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 while assigning spectrum for satcom on an administrative basis.
Arguing the government should ensure a level-playing field, Mittal said satellite companies with ambitions to come into urban areas and serve “elite, retail customers” need to take a telecom licence just like everybody else. He was likely referring to foreign companies such as Starlink and Project Kuiper, which are hopeful of entering the Indian market.

TRAI’s consultation paper, which came out in September, suggested satellite spectrum charges be tied to Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), ensuring spectrum charges are commensurate with the operator’s financial performance. “This provides for a flexible financial burden that aligns with the operator’s capacity to pay,” it said. The paper seeks to clarify the methodology of allocation, the frequencies to be used, the pricing of spectrum and the terms and conditions to be met by satellite operators with regards to national security.

TRAI has suggested the pricing exercise for the C, Ku, and Ka bands should be distinct, taking into account the specific characteristics of spectrum utilization for satellite-based communication services. It has sought comments on which frequency bands should be considered for the assignment to Non-Geo Stationary orbit (NGSO) based Fixed Satellite Services for providing data communication and Internet service. It has asked which frequency band, range should be considered for the assignment to Geostationary Orbit (GSO) and NGSO based Mobile Satellite Services for providing voice, text, data, and Internet service. Business Standard