Advanced Television: India close to spectrum decision on D2C

Story from Advanced Television:

Imagine the challenges – and pressure – on India’s assorted regulators when you have the likes of local billionaires Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Reliance, Sunil Mittel’s Airtel as well as two outsiders in Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Each and everyone of them are pushing regulators to open up spectrum for their satellite services:

Jio is working with SES, Airtel is working with OneWeb while Musk’s Starlink and Bezos’s Kuiper are all waiting for a green light to be given. Jio and Airtel have completed the necessary compliance, enabling them to start satellite broadband services once the spectrum is allocated.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is reportedly preparing to make decisions on the allocation of spectrum for satellite broadband services after receiving recommendations from the telecom regulator by December 15th 2024. Spectrum allocation is expected to follow a process similar to that of 2G services, though Jio and Airtel advocate for the allocation through an auction model.

Both Jio and Airtel have completed their regulatory processes, which makes them ready to kick-start satellite broadband services once spectrum is allocated. On the other hand, Starlink and Amazon Kuiper are in the process of finalising their compliance with Indian regulations before they can roll out services.

Local reports suggest that these key permissions will come before the end of January. The regulator’s decisions will be crucial in determining when satellite internet services will officially launch in India. Once operational, satellite broadband will be a game-changer, offering users in remote areas access to fast, reliable internet.