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Anil Kumar Lahoti, chairman, Trai. (File Photo) NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai ) is likely to come out with its recommendation for spectrum assignment to satellite broadband players within the two months, a top regulatory official said. “It’ll (to firm up views) take about two months.
So, after the open house discussion, we analyse all the comments, counter comments, and industry’s submissions. Then take two months to come up sometime in December,” Anil Kumar Lahoti , chairman, Trai, told ETTelecom, on the sidelines of a recently-concluded conference in Delhi. The official further said that the watchdog would examine the submissions made by the stakeholders and international practices, as well as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) rules.
Advt Early this month, the telecom regulator conducted an open house discussion with representatives of terrestrial and non-terrestrial network operators on the terms and conditions for the assignment of airwaves for satellite-based commercial communication services. The incumbent telecom service providers such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel said that spectrum for communication services must be allocated through the auction process ensuring a level-playing field while billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon's Project Kuiper and other players advocated an administrative allocation of frequencies. The matter snowballed into a controversy as the two warring sides together with their lobby groups such as the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), and India Space Association (Ispa) and SatCom Industry Association (SIA-India) have sent an array of letters to the Indian government and regulator.
Last month, Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that spectrum for satellite services will be “allocated administratively but at a cost” following the recommendations from the telecom regulator. Both Starlink and Amazon Kuiper have sought a predictable policy environment, and lower spectrum pricing that could allow them to offer broadband-from-space services in far-flung remote regions, not restricting to urban areas. Advt Currently, both SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper are yet to obtain permits to offer commercial satellite broadband services in the country.
Only Indian billionaire’s Reliance Jio and Bharti’s OneWeb have necessary licenses. Bharti Enterprises has become the largest shareholder with 21.2 % in Eutelsat and OneWeb merged entities.
Mumbai-based Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms and Luxembourg-based SES joint venture (JV) Orbit Connect India aims to provide satellite-based high-speed internet access in India. By Muntazir Abbas & Mansi Taneja , ETTelecom Published On Nov 18, 2024 at 02:39 PM IST Telegram Facebook Copy Link Be the first one to comment. Comment Now COMMENTS Comment Now Read Comment (1) All Comments By commenting, you agree to the Prohibited Content Policy Post By commenting, you agree to the Prohibited Content Policy Post Find this Comment Offensive? Choose your reason below and click on the submit button.
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