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The central government has proposed layers of security approvals and conditional consumer services for satellite communication companies, making a licence from the Department of Telecom (DoT) insufficient on its own to launch operations. According to draft rules issued by the government, companies will require security clearance even after the assignment of spectrum to roll out their services.
The draft Telecommunications (Spectrum Assignment by Administrative Process) Rules, 2026, published by the DoT, establishes strict conditions for satellite companies like Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio Satcom before they can deploy services for end consumers. Under these guidelines, satcom firms must secure explicit permission from the Centre before starting satellite phone and broadband services for the public. "Provided that if the central government has issued a letter of intent prior to obtaining the applicable clearance for the installation of radio equipment, the spectrum assignment shall be granted, after such clearance has been obtained," the draft rules notified on June 17 said. Regarding the financial framework, satellite companies will receive radio waves without an auction through an administrative process. This assignment happens against a fixed annual fee in the range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 50 lakh, determined on a per-terminal basis depending on the service type, alongside a non-refundable application fee of Rs 1,000. The notification from the DoT specifies that companies require security clearance to obtain a letter of intent, which the government issues before a company secures a formal licence. Following this step, satcom operators must still wait for final spectrum allocation to officially start their services. Furthermore, the draft rules restrict how these networks interact with existing infrastructure. The rule bars satcom companies from connecting their telecommunications network with public telecommunication networks without permission of the government. This restriction applies to traditional landline connections, public switched telephone networks, public land mobile networks, global mobile personal communication by satellite, and standard internet networks. Though the companies will receive spectrum through this administrative mechanism, the actual charges for the radiowaves will be determined on the basis of market price. The DoT has given 30 days for interested parties to comment on the draft rules before finalizing the framework. (ANI)
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