TRAI Recommends 5-12 months Satellite tv for pc Spectrum Allocation as Starlink Nears Entry
India’s telecom regulator has beneficial allotting satellite tv for pc spectrum for industrial communication providers for 5 years, it mentioned on Friday, at a time when Elon Musk is getting nearer to launching his Starlink high-speed web within the nation.
The advice additionally features a chance to increase an preliminary five-year spectrum allocation by an extra two years relying on market circumstances, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mentioned.
The telecom watchdog additionally beneficial charging telecom operators 4 p.c of their adjusted gross income for geostationary orbit-based mounted satellite tv for pc providers and for cell satellite tv for pc providers.
That is topic to a minimal annual spectrum cost of INR 3,500 ($41) per megahertz (MHz), in response to TRAI.
For non-geostationary orbit-based mounted satellite tv for pc providers, a further 500 rupees per subscriber each year in city areas needs to be charged, exempting rural and distant areas, it mentioned.
The suggestions come as Elon Musk is working in direction of launching Starlink in India. Musk has urged New Delhi to allot spectrum for 20 years to deal with “inexpensive pricing and longer-term enterprise plans,” in response to Starlink’s public submissions.
TRAI had agreed to calls for for a decrease licence time frame to see how the sector grows, Reuters had reported in March, citing a authorities supply.
Musk and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani signed a partnership in March that may permit Starlink gadgets to be offered in Ambani’s Reliance shops, giving it entry to a big distributor.
Ambani and Musk had beforehand been rivals – Ambani’s telco subsidiary had unsuccessfully lobbied New Delhi for months to public sale spectrum slightly than allot it administratively, as Musk wished.
Bharti Airtel , India’s no. 2 telco, has additionally pushed for a three-to-five yr interval for the licence. Bharti Airtel and Musk have additionally signed a distribution deal for Starlink.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
