TRAI’s spectrum pricing recommendations a bit stiff on satcom but fair and equitable on the whole: BIF

T V Ramachandran, President of Broadband India Forum (BIF)

After a week’s consideration, the Broadband India Forum (BIF) called the recommendations for spectrum pricing of satellite-based communication services “fair and equitable,” though a “bit stiff on fledgling satcom.”

End-consumer to be the winner

Commenting on the recommendations issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), T V Ramachandran, President of the BIF, said, “While not making it a cakewalk for satcom, TRAI has ensured the healthy coexistence of both terrestrial and satellite-based players and made the end consumer the real winner. The great message delivered by them through these recommendations is that satcom and terrestrial are absolutely complementary – not competitive, and need to grow together to build a fully connected India.”

Spectrum fee a concern

While praising TRAI for ensuring administratively assigned spectrum for satellite-based communication services, it also raised concern about the 4 per cent of Adjusted Gross Revenue charges suggested, four times higher than the earlier view of 1 per cent. It also noted that the tenure has also been suggested at 5 years, instead of 20 years as BIF hoped. Ramachandran said that this makes for a challenging business situation for the nascent satcom operators who are “the de facto ‘lender of last resort’ for connecting the unconnected.”

However, the recommendations also suggested the government provide a subsidy per fixed satellite user terminal in unconnected locations, even through a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in required. Ramachandran said this provided immediate benefit to the end consumer waiting to get into the connected mainstream. He also pointed out that terrestrial operators have been provided over ₹60,000 crores subsidy through USOF, etc. in past years.

Level-playing field as the over-arching theme

The organisation stated that a “level playing field” appears to have been the underlying theme of the recommendations especially when looking at Internet Access through FWA and Internet Access through Satellite User Terminal. The regulatory body compared 12 or more aspects of the systems including relative network capacities and reported that the terrestrial FWA system has as much as 56 to 280 times the capacity of the satellite equivalent.They have similarly analysed the MSS and other satellite services, said the BIF.

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Published on May 17, 2025