India to bridge digital divide with three satcom GMPCS licences: IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka

Pawan Kumar Goenka

With India awarding three GMPCS licences for low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, the country is set to bridge its digital divide by delivering affordable communication nationwide, said IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka.

"We have given three licenses for LEO satellite constellation for communication already, and with all of these things, the digital divide that India has will be taken care of, and India will be able to take communication in every different corner at affordable rate," Goenka said at the India Space Congress 2025 in Delhi.

Elon Musk's Starlink has secured its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) after meeting all security compliance requirements in its letter of intent. Starlink is now the third satcom firm licensed to operate in India, joining Eutelsat's OneWeb and Reliance Jio.

Amazon's Kuiper project, meanwhile, is still awaiting clearance as its application continues to be processed despite meeting security and operational norms. A decision is expected at the next inter-ministerial standing committee meeting.

Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed that spectrum will soon be assigned to satellite firms administratively, as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s pricing proposals are under review.

"We are also looking at the sky and satellite. LEO and MEO both have become today a reality in India. Spectrum will be assigned on an administrative basis. Three licenses are being given out, and those areas that were never connected will become connected," Scindia said on June 23.

However, TRAI's recommendations have sparked backlash from telecom operators. In a May 29 letter to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal, COAI — representing Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea — objected to TRAI's proposal to impose a 4% adjusted gross revenue (AGR) charge on satellite spectrum.