Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) or satellite communication networks presents an opportunity to connect the unconnected regions and extend coverage to most remote corners of the country.
“The evolution of NTNs will unlock new vistas in communication technologies, igniting innovative applications across diverse sectors, and ultimately advancing our collective journey towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs),” Scindia said at the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council meeting hosted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
The government has decided to allocate spectrum to satellite communication companies without auction, which will majorly benefit companies like Elon Musk-owned Starlink.
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Currently, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio have received approvals to launch satcom services in the country. Jio and Bharti Airtel have opposed allocation of spectrum without auction for mobility services, and urged the government to ensure level playing field between satcom and terrestrial networks.
However, satcom companies like Starlink and Kuiper say that since satellite spectrum is a shared resource, an auction will not be feasible.
Despite resistance from telecom operators, Scindia has maintained the allocation will be done through administrative methodology as per the Telecom Act 2023 and allocation price and other related norms will be suggested by Trai.
During his address, the minister said there has been a multi-fold increase in data consumption. Further, the government is also looking at growing the data centre capacity in India to 2.3 gigawatts over the next couple of years from about 977 megawatt at present.
According to Scindia, India has become an aggregate wireless data usage country of close to 39% of the world’s data capacity, which also opens up new vistas of opportunity for the country.
Currently, 99% of districts in India have been covered by 5G and the government is committed to providing 4G connectivity in the 36,000 villages that still need to be connected no later than June of 2025, Scindia said, adding that 4G saturation will increase to 100%.
The government has set a goal to take leadership in 6G and provide at least 10% of the patents for the technology through the Bharat 6G Alliance network.