Satcom spectrum allocation rules likely to be in place within two months
satellite communications services
are likely to be in place within two months, a government official said on Monday.
The spectrum allocation rules are the last lap that will enable Elon Musk-led
Starlink
, Bharti Group-backed
Eutelsat Oneweb
and Jio SES to apply for the radiowaves and start rolling out their services.
"Spectrum allocation rules are likely to be fixed in two months. After that, it will be at the discretion of
satcom
services when they want to roll out their services," the official said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the government should allocate spectrum without auction and through an administrative process-- a move that has seen huge resistance from telecom operators
Reliance Jio
and Bharti Airtel initially.
The regulator has suggested that spectrum for satcom services can be for a period of up to five years and considering the market conditions, the government may extend it for a further period of up to two years.
Trai has suggested that spectrum charges for both GSO-based and Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Fixed Satellite Services should be levied at 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
OneWeb and Starlink fall into the LEO (low earth orbit) category which are considered to be Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites. Besides, NGSO-based Fixed Satellite service providers should also pay an additional per subscriber charge of ₹500 per annum in urban areas while exempting the rural and remote areas from this additional charge.
While allaying the threat to land-based telecom networks from satcom services, Union Minister
Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar
said that Musk-led satellite communication services provider Starlink can have only 20 lakh connections in India with a peak speed of 200 megabits per second.
A government official mentioned that the limit on Starlink connections is due to its existing capacity.
The minister said that the upfront cost for satcom services will be too high and the monthly cost may be around ₹3,000. PTI
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
25 minutes ago
- Hans India
Microsoft, OpenAI Seek Decade-Long Alliance to Secure Future of AI Access Amid AGI Uncertainty
Microsoft and OpenAI are once again revisiting their partnership, exploring a new decade-long agreement that could redefine how both companies collaborate well into the future. As artificial intelligence technologies rapidly advance, particularly with the looming possibility of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), both firms are pushing to lock in long-term assurances that suit their evolving ambitions. According to Bloomberg, the renewed discussions are centered on updating the terms of the current agreement, which could see Microsoft retain continued access to OpenAI's most powerful technologies—even if OpenAI eventually claims to have achieved AGI. This clause is crucial for Microsoft, given that its flagship AI-driven products, including Copilot for Word, Excel, and GitHub, are deeply integrated with OpenAI's GPT models. Under the present deal, Microsoft's rights to OpenAI's most advanced systems would diminish once AGI is officially declared. That's a major risk for the tech giant, whose generative AI efforts rely heavily on the consistent availability of those models. With OpenAI now nearing what it sees as AGI milestones, Microsoft is eager to renegotiate before reaching that tipping point. Meanwhile, OpenAI is looking to become a public-benefit corporation—a status that prioritizes public good alongside profit. However, to make that structural transition, the AI lab reportedly needs Microsoft's approval. In exchange for supporting the shift, Microsoft is said to be negotiating for greater equity in the restructured entity and an extension of its current AI access rights, which would otherwise expire in 2030 or earlier if AGI is declared. The heart of the debate lies in defining AGI itself—a feat that remains elusive and conceptually vague. What qualifies as AGI? A chatbot composing original symphonies? Explaining complex movie plots like Inception? Without a universally accepted benchmark, the AGI clause becomes a gray area, prompting months of back-and-forth between the two partners. Adding complexity to the negotiations, OpenAI has reportedly suggested to investors that Microsoft's share of its revenue will shrink over time. That prospect may not sit well with Microsoft, which has invested billions into OpenAI's success and relies on its models to power the Azure OpenAI Service. The partnership has faced strains before. In June, The Information revealed previous clashes over the AGI clause. More recently, OpenAI's move to diversify its cloud support—tapping into providers like Google, Oracle, and CoreWeave—has sparked further scrutiny about the long-term alignment between the two tech titans. Complicating matters even more is Elon Musk's ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. Musk, a cofounder of the organization, has accused it of straying from its founding nonprofit ideals and becoming too aligned with Microsoft's commercial interests. For Microsoft, the timing of these negotiations is critical. With its quarterly earnings just around the corner, stakeholders will likely demand clarity on the future of its AI alliance with OpenAI—an alliance that could define the next chapter of the AI revolution.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
25 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trump says US, Israel to run more Gaza food centres, offers few details
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US will partner with Israel to run new food centres in Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian crisis there, but he and US officials offered few additional details about the plan or how it would differ from existing food distribution centres. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a trip to Scotland that Israel would preside over the new food centres to make sure the distribution is proper. We're going to be dealing with Israel, and we think they can do a good job of it," Trump said. The opaque details come as the Trump administration is facing calls at home and abroad to do more to address the hunger crisis in Gaza. The U.S.'s close ally, Israel, is at the center of an international outcry as more images of emaciated children continue to emerge. That pressure comes after the U.S. pulled out of talks last week to try to broker a ceasefire in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, accusing Hamas of acting in bad faith. But Trump this week broke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disagreeing publicly with him about starvation in Gaza and citing the pictures of hungry people. The White House described it as a new aid plan to help people in Gaza obtain access to food and promised that details would emerge. It did not elaborate. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday that she didn't know "the framework of how the new aid distribution would work. I'm waiting for the president to return. I don't want to get ahead of him, Bruce said. Democrats in Congress have implored the Trump administration to step up its role in addressing the suffering and starvation in Gaza. More than 40 senators signed a letter Tuesday urging the Trump administration to resume ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing the Israeli-backed American organization that had already been created to distribute food aid. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned why the U.S. was not allowing long-standing aid groups to run food centers. I'm glad that the president is saying that this is a problem. But if we want to solve the problem, turn to the folks who have been doing this for decades," Kaine said. The few details Trump provided about the new food centers appeared similar to a program that was already rolled out in May, after Israel had blocked all food, medicine and other imports for 2 months. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, opened four food distribution sites that month. Israel and GHF said that system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid. The United Nations, which has been distributing food in Gaza throughout the war when allowed, denies any significant diversion of aid by Hamas. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while heading to the GHF sites, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired occasional shots in the air to prevent dangerous crowding. The aid sites are in Israeli military zones, which is off limits to independent media. The U.N. refuses to cooperate with GHF, saying its model violates humanitarian principles by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances and risk their lives for food and because it allows Israel to control aid and use it to further mass displacement. Trump said Tuesday that he last spoke to Netanyahu two days earlier and that the Israeli leader wants to distribute food in a proper manner. I think Israel wants to do it, Trump said. And they'll be good at doing it. The president, for the second day in a row, remarked on the images of starving people and kids in Gaza, which seemed to prompt him this week to announce the new plan and his break with Netanyahu. Trump said Tuesday that everyone who saw the images coming out of Gaza would declare it terrible unless they're pretty cold-hearted or, worse than that, nuts. Those are kids that are starving. They are starving, Trump said. They've got to get them food. And we're going to get them food. The shift brings Trump closer to some in his MAGA base, who have rejected the Republican Party's long-standing, unequivocal support for Israel and see aid money flowing to the country as yet another misguided foreign intervention. They include Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, who has echoed the rhetoric of progressive Democrats in recent days. I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct. 7th was horrific. Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific. This war and humanitarian crisis must end! she wrote on Sunday on X. On Monday night, she went further, calling what is happening in Gaza genocide. But Greene's comments do not represent MAGA as a whole. On Monday, podcaster Charlie Kirk, who leads the powerful Turning Point network, railed against what he deemed a propaganda campaign trying to make it seem as if Israel is intentionally starving the people of Gaza.
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
AAP MP Calls PM Modi 'Non-Biological', Slams Him for Speaking To Pakistan ISI
Two LeT Terrorists Gunned Down In Poonch Days After Pahalgam Killers Eliminated Near Srinagar Two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were neutralized this morning in a fierce encounter in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. This comes just days after security forces eliminated three terrorists behind the April 22 Pahalgam massacre that killed 26 Indian Army's White Knight Corps first observed suspicious movement near the LoC fence before engaging the terrorists. This latest operation is being seen as part of a sustained crackdown on Pakistan-backed terror modules following Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev. Home Minister Amit Shah recently told Parliament that the Pahalgam attackers Suleiman, Afghani, and Jibran were neutralized in a high-intensity operation. #poonchencounter #pahalgamattack #operationsindoor #operationmahadev #lashkaretaiba #terroristkilled #jkpolice #indianarmy #crpf #baisaranvalley #whiteknightcorps #jammuandkashmir #poonchsector #indianews #trending #breakingnews #amitshah #parliamentdebate #nationalsecurity #terrorismindia #afghani #jibran #suleiman #pakistanterror #modigovernment #kashmirencounter #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews 2.8K views | 1 hour ago
