en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Indian government is considering requiring global satellite communication operators such as Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb to coordinate with Indian domestic satellite constellations before obtaining spectrum to provide services locally. India's Economic Times (ET), citing senior official sources, reported that this move aims to ensure India's presence in the space communications sector remains unhindered.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to include provisions on coordination in its upcoming draft rules for spectrum allocation to global non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite communication operators. A person familiar with the details said this move is intended to ensure that global operators do not hinder or obstruct Indian operators' entry into the space communications sector. The central government and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) are comprehensively strengthening the satellite communications industry, particularly domestic constellations, necessitating safeguards to ensure that local operators' businesses are not obstructed by already-approved global satellite communication providers.
To date, Elon Musk's Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, and a joint venture between Jio and Luxembourg-based SES have all received space regulator approval and DoT licenses for their NGSO constellations. None of the three has yet passed security clearance, and spectrum has not yet been allocated. Jeff Bezos' Amazon Leo has submitted an application but has not yet received approval from IN-SPACe or DoT.
The central government believes that global operators have already gained an advantage in securing preferred orbital positions and could use this to obstruct potential Indian entrants by refusing coordination. An official said that if coordination is refused, later satellite communication operators would face interference issues and may be unable to launch services. Satellite communication operators must adjust infrastructure such as satellite tilt angles, ground stations, and receivers to avoid interference; this mechanism relies on mutual coordination, where existing operators always hold the advantage, and new entrants must make more adjustments to adapt to their systems.
National security is the Indian government's top priority, especially in the satellite communications sector, as such networks operate beyond India's physical borders. Conflicts such as the West Asian war have raised alarms in India's security establishment—for instance, Starlink terminals have been found in use inside Iran, despite an explicit ban there. Therefore, the central government supports the development of domestic constellations, as the space domain is critical to national security, particularly defense-related aspects.
Another official said that the orbital parameters, configuration, and architecture of the Jio constellation are designed to allow coexistence with a future Indian constellation, anticipating the possibility of another Indian NGSO constellation emerging.
Jio plans to offer fixed satellite services (broadband, cellular backhaul) and mobile satellite services (direct-to-device). The company plans to establish 20 to 22 ground stations in India, providing throughput of approximately 4 to 4.5 terabits per second (Tbps), the highest scale among global operators approved so far.
