DCC approves TRAI’s satcom spectrum recommendations

The Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the apex decision-making body at the Department of Telecom, has approved most of the recommendations made by sector regulator TRAI to allocate spectrum for satellite communications services, according to sources.

Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Industries Ltd’s Jio Satellite Communications have received permission to start satcom services in India. The services, however, cannot be rolled out without spectrum allocation and the second stage of security clearance from security agencies. “DCC in its meeting held on September 3 has approved the majority of recommendations made by Trai on satcom spectrum,” a source aware of the development said.

The Department of Telecom will now approach the Cabinet for final approval on the pricing and allocation process of radio waves for the satellite communications (satcom) services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in May 2025 recommended that satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for five years, which can be extended by another two years.

The regulator had recommended a levy of 4 per cent of annual revenues as a fee on satcom service providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, but sources said that DoT was of the view to levy 5 per cent instead of 4 per cent suggested by the regulator. Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon Inc’s subsidiary Kuiper Systems had, during consultations with the TRAI, urged it to keep spectrum charge below 1 per cent of AGR with no other charges.

The four per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) spectrum charge would be for both geostationary orbit (GSO) and NGSO (non-geostationary orbit) operators. These would be subject to a minimum annual spectrum charge of Rs 3,500 per MHz.

TRAI, in its recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications, had said that operators offering services in urban areas would have to shell out an additional Rs 500 per subscriber annually. No additional levy would be applicable to services in rural areas.

The regulator 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 Rs 20,000-50,000). It said high cost could be a barrier to adoption, potentially impeding the adoption of such services in difficult-to-reach areas. 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.

The satellite spectrum pricing as a percentage of AGR is for both non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) and Geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) based fixed-satellite service (FSS) and mobile satellite service (MSS).

NGSO refers to satellites occupying either a low-Earth orbit (LEO) or medium-Earth orbit (MEO). Unlike geostationary GSO satellites, LEO and MEO satellites do not occupy a stationary position but move in relation to the Earth.