India's private telecom operators—Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea—have strongly opposed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recent recommendations on satellite communication (satcom) spectrum allocation, calling the proposed pricing "unjustifiably low" and the process "non-transparent."
Also Read: TRAI Proposes Administrative Allocation of Satcom Spectrum With Five-Year Licensing Framework
Telcos Oppose TRAI's Spectrum Pricing
In a joint letter sent through the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to key government ministries including the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Finance Ministry, and NITI Aayog, the operators warned that the proposals could distort market dynamics and threaten the viability of terrestrial networks. The letter marks the first formal reaction to TRAI's recommendations issued last month.
"These recommendations are non-transparent based on non-justifiable assumption rather than factual data," the telcos said in the letter, according to an ETTelecom report.
"It appears that TRAI has underestimated the potential capacities of satellite network while possibly overstating those of terrestrial networks that have resulted in a flawed foundation for the entire exercise," the letter reportedly said. It added that this fundamental flaw in the capacity assumptions exercise undermines the DoT's clear mandate to ensure competitive parity between satellite and terrestrial services.
Also Read: ISpA Welcomes TRAI’s Satellite Spectrum Pricing Recommendations
TRAI's Suggestion
The telecom companies argued that TRAI's suggestion to allocate satcom spectrum administratively at a nominal fee of 4 percent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), without any upfront payment, not only undercuts existing spectrum charges but also disregards the principle of competitive parity. They pointed out that the proposed charges are even lower than the current administrative fees for GSO-based VSAT services, which do not compete directly with terrestrial networks.
The operators contended that TRAI had based its recommendations on flawed assumptions. According to them, the regulator underestimated the potential capacity of satellite networks, while overstating the capabilities of terrestrial systems. This, they said, undermines the DoT's directive to ensure a level playing field between the two technologies.
Satellite Capacity of Global Players
In support of their argument, the carriers highlighted the planned satellite capacity of global players such as Starlink and Project Kuiper, noting that it is set to surpass the current capacity of India's largest telecom networks–Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
The telcos also objected to TRAI's proposal to subsidise satellite user terminals or operators through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) fund, stressing that a majority of contributions to the fund come from telecom service providers themselves. They said this move would further skew the competitive landscape.
Also Read: TRAI Says Satcom Services Complement and Do Not Compete With Terrestrial Networks
TRAI Chairman Defends Recommendations
TRAI Chairman A K Lahoti has dismissed the telcos' concerns, stating that satellite and terrestrial networks are fundamentally different and that satcom services are intended to complement, not compete with, traditional networks. "It's not factually correct that satcom services are competing with terrestrial services because there is a huge difference between the capacity of the terrestrial network and the satellite network," Lahoti said while releasing the recommendations, according to an earlier report.
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