TRAI’s Tariff Shock May Ground India’s Satellite Broadband Takeoff
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw & Starlink (Image credit X.com)
By insisting on higher levies and complex fee structures, TRAI risks slowing down Starlink, OneWeb, and Jio Satellite’s rollout, while DoT warns against compliance chaos and burdens on early adopters.
By SANJAY SINGH
NEW DELHI, September 17 — India’s satellite broadband sector, once billed as the ultimate fix for last-mile connectivity, is already in danger of turbulence — not from technology, but from regulators.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a framework that looks more like a penalty than a launchpad. A ₹500 annual surcharge on urban users, a 4% AGR-based spectrum levy, and a ₹3,500 per MHz minimum floor fee together create a tariff cocktail that may deter adoption rather than expand it.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has pushed back. At the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) meeting, officials flagged the absurdity of trying to segregate “urban” from “rural” customers, predicting compliance headaches and loopholes. Instead of nudging expansion into rural belts, DoT fears TRAI’s design could strangle demand where it is most needed — in cities, which provide the scale to subsidize rural services.
The clash reveals a deeper fault line in India’s digital policymaking. TRAI insists on a light-touch regime, saying satellite internet is still nascent and cannot yet compete with terrestrial broadband. But its pricing playbook contradicts that stance, front-loading costs on subscribers and operators in a sector that should be incentivized, not burdened.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing telcos, has already described TRAI’s approach “unfair and non-transparent.” Global satellite firms like Starlink and OneWeb, along with Reliance’s Jio Satellite, are watching closely — delays or hostile pricing could slow investments just as India positions itself as a space-tech hub.
For rural households, farmers, and small businesses awaiting reliable connectivity, satellite broadband holds transformational promise. But if India stumbles at the regulatory gate, it risks repeating a familiar pattern: building infrastructure that remains underused because policy strangled demand before it could take off.
The choice before policymakers is clear: treat satellite broadband as an elite urban service to be taxed, or as a strategic national utility that must be nurtured until scale brings costs down. Right now, TRAI seems to have picked the wrong side.
(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)
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