Parliament Question: Pending Spectrum Assignment for Licenced NGSO Satellite Operators

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4036 ANSWERED ON 12TH AUGUST, 2026 PENDING SPECTRUM ASSIGNMENT FOR LICENCED NGSO SATELLITE OPERATORS

4036. DR. SHASHI THAROOR:

WILL the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken a decision on the administrative assignment of spectrum to Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence holders operating NGSO satellite systems and if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the Government has accepted, modified or sought reconsideration of the recommendations made by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on administrative assignment of spectrum for satellite communication services and if so, the details thereof, recommendation-wise; and

(c) the details and the number of GMPCS licence holders awaiting administrative assignment of spectrum as on date along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government to operationalise such assignments? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) The Telecommunications Act, 2023 provides for assignment of spectrum through administrative process for certain services listed in First Schedule of the Act, which includes Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS).

(b) After considering the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI) on spectrum pricing and associated terms and conditions for satellite-based commercial communication services, the Government had accepted certain recommendations and had referred remaining recommendations back to TRAI. Thereafter, TRAI provided its response on 8.12.2025. Details of the recommendations referred back to TRAI are available in the TRAI response dated 8.12.2025 (available at https://trai.gov.in/release- publication/recommendation).

(c) Three licensees holding Unified License with GMPCS service authorisation had applied for grant of provisional spectrum assignment for the demonstration of compliance to technical and security conditions. Provisional spectrum has been assigned to these licensees.

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