The satellite communications (satcom) industry in India is still awaiting the government nod to switch on commercial services. One of the things which has taken a long time to clear out is the spectrum pricing and the mode of allocation. The spectrum pricing issue between the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is ongoing. This could delay the launch of satcom services by another three to six months in the country.
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Shivaji Chatterjee, CEO of Hughes Communications India, in a conversation with ET said that there are disagreements between TRAI and DoT over pricing of the spectrum for satcom players. So this first needs to be reviewed by a standing committee, and then this proposal will move to the Digital Communications Commission (DCC).
Once the approval from DCC comes, then it will go ahead to the union cabinet or the telecom minister, depending on the scope of the issue. Due to these ongoing delays, the crucial satellite communication services can't switch on in India. For a country like India, which is wide-spread, and has a ton of rural places where fiber connectivity is hard to provide for the terrestrial network providers, satcom can make a huge difference.
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Just recently, Bharti Airtel and Eutelsat, via OneWeb, provided satellite connectivity to the Indian army to help with the ongoing humanitarian relief operations in flood affected areas of Sri Lanka. Satellite connectivity doesn't just connect the dark spots of the country where no network is present, it also ensures that connectivity reaches areas where terrestrial networks are affected due to the natural calamities. It will be interesting to see where things go from here for the satcom industry in India.
