The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has granted a six-month extension to Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and the Jio-SES joint venture, Orbit Connect India, allowing continued use of provisional satellite spectrum until November 2025. The extension provides additional time for both companies to comply with the government's new mandatory security guidelines issued in May this year, both Moneycontrol and Livemint reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
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Mandatory Security Guidelines
According to sources, both companies already hold Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licenses but are yet to fulfill the updated security requirements necessary for commercial service rollout. Formal extension letters are expected to be issued to all eligible GMPCS licensees by next week.
"The extension comes as a relief for the operators that were yet to comply with the government's recently introduced security guidelines, a pre-requisite for launching commercial services in India," one of the officials was quoted as saying.
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"There is no official spectrum allocation policy yet, so the department had to extend the provisional spectrum timeline for the companies, especially as new use cases for the technology continue to emerge," a person familiar with the matter was quoted as saying. The extension follows a request made by existing license holders in March seeking additional time to align with the new regulatory framework.
"The existing GMPCS license holder had written to the department in March when previously allocation of provisional spectrum was acquired, and they sought an extension to comply with new security guidelines."
Data Localisation, Geo-Fencing & Monitoring
The updated security framework mandates satellite operators to establish data centres within India, enable lawful interception and website blocking, integrate support for India's NavIC navigation system, and commit to phased local manufacturing. Each gateway must receive individual security clearance, with geo-fencing enforced in sensitive regions.
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Operators must also ensure that all user traffic is routed through Indian infrastructure, prohibit direct satellite-to-satellite communication that bypasses domestic gateways, and implement real-time monitoring and terminal registration. Devices must report live location data at intervals of either every 2.6 kilometers or every minute, whichever occurs first. Unregistered or foreign terminals will only be permitted after verification.
These conditions must be met before launching services, in addition to compliance with the DoT's technical standards governing non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) systems, electronically steerable antennas (ESIM), and transportable earth stations (TES).
"There could be delays in launching commercial services if companies don't fulfil security requirements in a timely manner," another person was quoted as saying.
TRAI Recommendations Under Review
Meanwhile, SpaceX-owned Starlink continues to await provisional spectrum clearance, pending landing rights approval—a prerequisite for operation in India. The DoT is currently in the process of finalizing satellite spectrum pricing and rollout norms, following recommendations submitted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
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