Bharti, Jio Granted Provisional Allocation Of Satcom Spectrum For Test Runs

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced a provisional allocation of satellite spectrum for six months. The move will enable select companies, including Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s Orbit Connect India, to test-run their satellite services.

An official notification, released on October 10, 2024, details the eligibility criteria, allowing companies with a valid DoT licence and In-Space authorisation to access the spectrum.

Currently, OneWeb and Orbit Connect India have met the requirements to utilise the provisional spectrum. However, competitors like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are still awaiting the necessary licences.

Notably, the DoT has emphasised that any data collected during this testing period must be securely stored within India. Licensees are required to ensure the confidentiality of this data and provide detailed information about their server and data centre locations to the department. 

Sharing operational data with external parties is restricted and only allowed under specific circumstances, such as when requested by law enforcement agencies.

Under the terms of the provisional spectrum assignment, the companies are expected to demonstrate compliance with security and technical standards. 

Although they can provide services to users during the testing phase, charging for these services is not permitted. Furthermore, companies can test their offerings with an unlimited number of customers, facilitating thorough assessments of their capabilities.

It is pertinent to note that Reliance Jio received approval from the Indian space regulator to operate satellites in June this year. 

However, further approvals were pending from the DoT to begin operations.

In August, Airtel’s OneWeb claimed to be ready to roll out the satellite broadband service in the country. At that time, parent Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal stated that the satellites were constantly orbiting India and that they were “just waiting for a signal from the DoT to light up those SNPs (satellite network portals) for commercial service.”

Few months back, Apple’s satcom partner Globalstar was also mulling to apply for a licence to offer satcom services in India. 

At the heart of all this is the homegrown satcom space, which, as per the government, could be key to delivering internet services to 1.2 Bn Indians by 2025-26.