TRAI backs satellite direct-to-device service for ordinary phones and a new 20-year licence for satellite network owners

India’s telecom regulator wants ordinary mobile phones to be able to talk straight to satellites. In recommendations released on Thursday, 5 November, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) backed satellite direct-to-device service, or D2D, over two kinds of spectrum, and proposed a new licence for companies that own satellite networks but do not sell to the public.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked for the framework in July 2025. The regulator published a consultation paper on 8 April 2026, received written comments from 31 stakeholders followed by 12 counter-comments, and held an open house discussion on 2 July.

A wholesale licence for satellite networks

Under the proposed Satellite Communication Network (SCN) Provider Authorisation, a company would hold national rights for a maximum of 20 years, with one further 20-year renewal possible. It would rent out its network, which TRAI calls SCNaaS, to licensed telecom and internet operators, and could not serve end users itself. Satellite spectrum assigned to it would run for five years at most, extendable by two.

The first D2D route uses the L and S bands reserved for mobile satellite service, and TRAI asked the government to nudge handset makers to support those bands in phones sold in India. The second lets an operator’s own mobile spectrum in the 600, 700, 800, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands carry satellite signals on a non-interference, non-protection basis. TRAI would allow it now rather than hold it until the World Radiocommunication Conference of 2027. Operators holding the chosen channel in every one of the 22 licensed service areas must agree, and no extra spectrum charge would apply.

What it would cost

TRAI proposed an authorisation fee of 8% of adjusted gross revenue with no minimum, a floor of Rs 3,500 per MHz a year on charges for satellite spectrum the government assigns, an entry fee of Rs 37.5 lakh and a minimum net worth of Rs 60 lakh. Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio’s satellite arm are among the companies lining up for Indian satellite broadband customers. The recommendations now go to the DoT, which decides whether to adopt them.