It will be a long wait for satellite communication companies such as Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Space X-owned Starlink, and Jio Satellite, before they are able to offer satellite-internet services as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is expected to take two months to issue the consultation paper dealing with the methodology of allocating spectrum to them.

 “We are aware that department of telecommunications has issued their reference calling for auctioning the satellite spectrum but we will follow a consultative process and then give our recommendations on the subject,” Trai officials said, adding that it would take about two months to come up with a consultation paper.

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The satellite broadband services once started in India will resolve internet connectivity issues in the far flung areas, providing high speed internet.

The government has currently issued the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence to OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, a unit of Reliance Jio, to offer satellite-based internet services. Other companies which have applied for the licence are Elon Musk’s Starlink and Tata Group’s Nelco.

“Trai has been conducting discussions with industry to prepare its consultation paper on allocation of satellite spectrum,” an executive with a global satcom player said.

Earlier, while issuing recommendations related to modalities of 5G spectrum in April, Trai had recommended for auction of spectrum in the band of 24.25-28.5 GHz band, which includes 27.5-28.5 GHz frequency range for satellite services. However, DoT had not included this in the auction and asked Trai for a separate recommendation on it  after it sends the required information regarding it.

In November last year, Trai had asked DoT to provide the details of the frequency bands and quantum of spectrum available in each band required to be put to auction and associated information in respect of space-based communication.

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“The discussions are going on. We had sought some data points related to the spectrum band from DoT. We are trying our best to complete the consultation process soon,” the official said.

Last month, telecom secretary K Rajaraman had said that the country would witness satellite-based broadband services by the middle of next year. Currently, the government is waiting for Trai to send its recommendations on the subject, he had said.

Lately, telecom companies, barring Bharti, have been batting for auctioning of satellite spectrum and opposing administrative allocation of spectrum to satellite companies, which they feel is against the level-playing field.

“There is no doubt that Satellite services are going to co-exist, complement, and compete with terrestrial services both technically and commercially, however, the demands for administrative allocation by Satellite operators are not legally tenable,” Reliance Jio had said in its response to Trai consultation paper on 5G spectrum auction.

On the other hand, industry associations such as Broadband India Forum and Indian Space Association (ISpA) have called for an administrative allocation of spectrum.  “A spectrum auction for satellite spectrum would artificially limit the number of satellite operators sharing the spectrum and exclude them from the market, while satellite operators can (differently from terrestrial mobile operators) coexist in the same frequency range,” ISpA said.

Recently, Bharti Enterprises chief Sunil Bharti Mittal had also batted against the auction method for allocation of satellite spectrum. Acccording to Mittal, the auction should not be there as the satellite services do not compete with mobile services. The satellite companies are also waiting for the government to release Spacecom policy, which is expected in a few weeks, according to an industry executive.