Digital inclusion, not spectrum fees, will drive satcom value in India: Eutelsat-OneWeb

Oneweb

Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat-OneWeb has urged the government to create a regulatory and economic framework that accelerates satellite broadband adoption, warning that the true value of India’s emerging satcom market lies in digital inclusion—not in spectrum monetisation.

The call comes as the company, along with rivals Jio-SES and Starlink, prepares for commercial launch once spectrum is assigned.

Neha Idnani, Eutelsat-OneWeb’s VP for APAC operations, said clear and predictable regulation was essential to unlock investments and scale satellite services in India.

“Regulators, whether in India or globally, need to see that the economic value of satcom is not going to come from the likes of spectrum monetisation or licence fees. It is really going to come from digital inclusion,” Neha Idnani, regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific at Eutelsat OneWeb, said at the India International Space Conclave in New Delhi

Idnani added that satellite communication could also provide resilient backup infrastructure to India’s telecom networks, adding to its economic value.

Positioning satellite broadband as a complement to terrestrial networks, Idnani said satcom will cater to scenarios where fibre and mobile networks cannot serve as the primary mode of communication—whether due to technical constraints, security needs, disasters, or geopolitical disruptions.

Her remarks come as the government works to finalise its satellite spectrum allocation and pricing. Last week, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to revisit several recommendations, including a proposed Rs 500 annual fee for urban services due to unclear urban–rural boundaries, and a minimum annual spectrum charge of Rs 3,500 per MHz for GEO and NGSO services, which DoT believes is too low to prevent hoarding of a scarce resource.

With players such as Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, Jio Satellite and Amazon LEO preparing for rollout, spectrum remains the last major hurdle. Addressing coexistence concerns, Idnani emphasised that satellite networks are not competing with mobile operators.

“Yes, there needs to be a level playing field but that is when satcom is getting into the turf of terrestrial. Today, we as a service provider strongly believe that we need to go and serve those places where terrestrial communication is either technically or commercially not viable as a primary mode of communication,” Idnani said. Satellite internet will best serve areas where terrestrial networks fail to provide strong, secure and resilient layers of connectivity, she added.

Satellite internet, she added, is best suited to deliver secure, resilient connectivity in regions where conventional networks fall short.