OneWeb, Jio-SES JV get spectrum to test broadband satellite services

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India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly allocated satellite spectrum on a provisional basis to Eutelsat OneWeb and Orbit Connect India – Reliance Jio’s satellite venture with SES – to allow them to test satellite broadband services.

According to the Economic Times, Eutelsat OneWeb and Orbit Connect India will have access to the spectrum for six months so that they can demonstrate that their services comply with security and technical regulations.

Under the terms of the allocations, both firms will be able to offer services to customers but can’t charge money for them, as they are not yet cleared for commercial rollout. That said, there’s no limit to how many customers participate in the trials, the report said.

The DoT also said it only allocated spectrum to Eutelsat OneWeb and Orbit Connect India because they’re the only satellite broadband players so far to acquire global mobile personal communications by satellite services (GMPCS) licences to operate in India, as well as In-Space authorisation certificates, the report added. Players like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have yet to do so.

The spectrum allocations potentially bring India one step closer to launching commercial satellite broadband services using LEO and MEO satellites. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is still hammering out its recommendations on details such as pricing and the allocation process for commercial spectrum.

However, the latter remains a bone of contention, with the debate centred on whether broadband satellite spectrum should be allocated by an administrative process or via an auction. Operators like Eutelsat OneWeb support the former, while telcos like Jio and Vodafone Idea support the latter on the grounds that it creates an unlevel playing field, as broadband satellite services will compete with terrestrial telcos who had to pay millions for their spectrum.

The matter was supposedly settled with the passage of India’s updated Telecommunications Act 2023 in June, which specifies an administrative process for satellite spectrum allocations. However, last week, Jio raised the issue again in a letter to TRAI complaining that the reguulator’s consultation paper ignores the level playing field issue.

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