en.Wedoany.com Reported - Satellite communication providers and telecom operators have agreed with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposal to authorize communication satellite operators as infrastructure providers, collaborating with existing telecom operators to extend commercial communication services to users.

During an open discussion organized by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), companies including Amazon Leo, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Communications agreed with Trai on establishing separate tiers for network providers and service operators. Industry think tank Broadband India Forum (BIF) opposed the proposal, arguing that satellite communication must be recognized as an independent service rather than a wholesale infrastructure layer, and noted that this contradicts the Telecommunications Act of 2023, which classifies satellite communication as an independent service. Reliance Jio, which has announced plans to launch its own satellite constellation, also opposed the two-tier framework, stating that the existing satellite gateway and virtual network operator frameworks already adequately cover relevant issues. The push for separating the network layer and service layer comes after the telecom department rejected Trai's earlier unified framework in January 2025, deeming it would cause significant operational inefficiencies. In written submissions, satellite companies such as Starlink, Amazon Leo, and Oneweb welcomed the establishment of a separate layer, stating that it would allow satellite operators to focus on providing wholesale capacity while leaving retail operations to partners.