New Delhi: The dead zone at the end of a hill road, the village where the signal collapses at dusk, the boat out at sea. TRAI has put a way around all three on paper.
In recommendations dated November 5, the regulator proposed allowing satellite-based direct-to-device services on six mobile bands: 600MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz, all of which already carry mobile traffic.
Satellite companies cannot simply pick up that spectrum. They must sign with a telecom operator holding the band, and the agreement has to cover all 22 licensed service areas. One or more eligible operators can together provide the access.
TRAI has also suggested allowing the service without waiting for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027, provided it runs on a non-interference, non-protection basis: the satellite link must not disturb existing networks, and cannot claim protection if it is itself disturbed. Separate recommendations cover the L-band and S-band set aside for mobile satellite services.
On handsets, the regulator asked the government to encourage manufacturers to build the necessary modules into phones sold in India. It stopped short of making satellite hardware compulsory on every handset.
A new licence category sits alongside. Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, a Satellite Communication Network Provider authorisation would run up to 20 years, renewable for another 20. The proposed fee is 8% of adjusted gross revenue with no minimum authorisation fee, an entry fee of ₹37.5 lakh, minimum equity and net worth of ₹60 lakh each, and a minimum annual spectrum charge of ₹3,500 per MHz where satellite spectrum is assigned. Spectrum assignment would run five years, extendable by two.
The security conditions are strict. Satellite traffic originating or terminating in India must route through gateways inside the country, providers must allow lawful interception, and they must be able to block signals in notified sensitive areas.
Holders of the new authorisation would run networks and sell capacity to telecom operators, not serve consumers directly.
None of this is final. The recommendations draw on responses from 31 parties, counter-comments from 12 and an open house in July 2026, and they are advice. The Department of Telecommunications now decides what to accept.
Starlink, Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio hold licences to sell satellite internet in India and none can start at scale yet. Security clearance and a decision on spectrum pricing are both pending. Government sources said OneWeb filed its security compliance documents first, Jio second and Starlink last.
For a phone buyer, none of this arrives this year.