Satcom Policy Shouldn’t Discriminate Against Telcos: Sunil Mittal

SUMMARY

While noting that satcom spectrum could be allocated on a “shared basis” for rural and hard-to-reach areas, Mittal batted against any such proposal in urban areas

He also reiterated that the company is waiting for “greenlight” from the Centre to launch satcom services in the country

The comments from Mittal come at a time when Indian telcos have sought auction of satcom spectrum, while the likes of Kuiper and Starlink are batting against it

Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal has reportedly urged the Centre to formulate a satellite communication (satcom) policy that does not discriminate against terrestrial providers, especially in urban areas.

He made the comments on Friday (February 21) while speaking on the sidelines of the SOUL leadership conclave 2025.

As per news agency PTI, Mittal said that spectrum for satcom services could be allocated on a “shared basis” for rural and hard-to-reach areas. He, however, batted against any such proposal in urban areas.

“It is only in urban areas, TRAI and Department of Telecom (DoT) need to come out with (a) policy which does not discriminate against the terrestrial providers,” Mittal was quoted as saying.

Citing his rationale, he said that the country (hinting at urban India) is already witnessing one of the lowest tariffs globally, which allows users to enjoy 30-60 GB of data a month for $2.5 to $3.

“Shared basis” effectively refers to administrative allocation, whereby the government simply allocates spectrum to applicants without auction. Additionally, if spectrum is shared, then it cannot be priced individually.

Speaking about the overall ecosystem, Mittal noted that satellite connectivity is indeed necessary to serve dark and underserved areas. He also reiterated that Eutelsat OneWeb is waiting for “greenlight” from the Centre to launch satcom services.

“We are one of the leading players and waiting for our permissions, and we are providing the services in many parts of the world already. So I think it’s a great initiative, and we have already sought our permissions to launch…as soon as we are given a green light, we will launch our services,” added Mittal.

This is largely in line with what Mittal said in August last year. At the time, he said that Bharti Group-backed satcom services provider Eutelsat OneWeb is ready to roll out its satellite broadband service in the country and is awaiting approvals from the the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and TRAI.

The company has already secured the nod of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to launch its commercial satellite broadband services in India. Last week, Eutelsat OneWeb reportedly sought fast track approval from the DoT to launch its twin earth station gateways in India.

OneWeb is a joint venture (JV) between Bharti Enterprises and French satellite operator Eutelsat. It competes with the likes of Jio-SES (a JV between Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms and Luxembourg’s SES) and global companies such as Elon Musk-backed Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper.

Mittal’s comments come at a time when Indian telecom operators are seeking auction of satcom spectrum, while the likes of Kuiper and Starlink are batting against it. However, the union government has stuck to its guns, with communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia previously publicly saying that spectrum for satellite services would be allocated administratively but at a “cost”.