INDUSTRY
TRAI recommends spectrum rate for satcom companies at 4% of their AGR
- IBJ Bureau
- May 10, 2025
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that satellite communication (sitcom) companies like Starlink pay 4 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as spectrum charges to the government — a rate steeper than what these companies had been lobbying for.
Operators offering satellite-based broadband internet services in urban areas would have to shell out an additional Rs 500 per subscribers annually, the TRAI has said in its recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
No additional levy would be applicable for services in rural areas.
The levy recommended by the TRAI is steeper than what satcom companies have been lobbying for. Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s subsidiary Kuiper Systems had during consultations with the TRAI urged it to keep spectrum charge below 1 per cent of AGR with no other charge.
The TRAI has recommended that satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for five years, which can be extended by another two years.
The satellite spectrum pricing as a percentage of AGR is for both non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO)- and geostationary satellite orbit (GSO)-based fixed-satellite service (FSS) and mobile satellite service (MSS).
NGSO refers to satellites occupying either a low-earth orbit (LEO) or medium-earth orbit (MEO). Unlike geostationary GSO satellites, LEO and MEO satellites do not occupy a stationary position but move in relation to the earth.
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