The brand new satcom guidelines sign the nation’s efforts to tighten nationwide defenses as overseas curiosity grows
India’s Division of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a sweeping set of recent safety pointers for satellite tv for pc communication (satcom) suppliers, signaling each an effort to tighten nationwide defenses and a high-stakes gatekeeping transfer amid growing overseas curiosity within the nation’s quickly rising satcom market.
The brand new guidelines apply to all operators functioning underneath the International Cell Private Communications by Satellite tv for pc Providers (GMPCS) license, a regulatory requirement for corporations aiming to ship satellite-based connectivity in India. Suppliers should now adjust to greater than 20 new safety circumstances. These embrace mandates round knowledge localization, real-time monitoring, person terminal registration, geo-fencing, and integration with India’s indigenous NavIC positioning system — a homegrown different to GPS — by 2029.
The up to date framework arrives simply as main international gamers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, Amazon’s Mission Kuiper, and Bharti Airtel-backed Eutelsat-OneWeb are racing to both enter or scale up their presence in India.
Starlink, specifically, has confronted regulatory delays since first making use of for GMPCS licensing in 2022. Following a number of conferences with India’s telecom minister and the submission of a revised proposal, the SpaceX-backed satellite tv for pc web supplier is reportedly near acquiring approval. Nevertheless, underneath the up to date DoT pointers, Starlink — like all different satcom contenders — might want to guarantee end-to-end compliance with India’s safety protocols, significantly round knowledge sovereignty and lawful interception, earlier than it may well launch business companies.
Bharti Airtel-backed Eutelsat-OneWeb, in the meantime, has already cleared key regulatory hurdles. The three way partnership secured GMPCS licensing and commenced providing India-specific satellite tv for pc broadband companies in 2024. Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal described the service as “able to serve” India’s distant and underserved populations. But, even for a frontrunner like OneWeb, the DoT’s more durable requirements imply guaranteeing that each one operational infrastructure — together with gateways, Factors of Presence (PoPs) and person authentication methods — meet new authorities expectations.
On the coronary heart of those regulatory adjustments is a broader push by the Indian authorities to safeguard nationwide safety pursuits as satellite-based companies broaden into each nook of the nation, together with delicate border areas. Corporations should use India-based DNS resolvers and PoPs, prohibit entry to solely verified and registered terminals, and implement strong geo-fencing capabilities to stop unintentional sign spillover into neighboring nations.
“Indian person site visitors shall not be routed by way of any Gateway/PoP situated overseas or any area system, which isn’t a part of satellite tv for pc/constellation used for offering service… Indian person site visitors shall not be mirrored to any system/server situated overseas,” acknowledged the rules.
The foundations additionally require satcom suppliers to determine emergency-response mechanisms, together with the flexibility to close off service to particular areas or customers if ordered by nationwide safety companies. These stipulations replicate the rising recognition that satellite tv for pc methods are important infrastructure — and probably a nationwide vulnerability if left unchecked.
The DoT has additionally laid out expectations for home manufacturing. Satcom suppliers should start sourcing not less than 20% of their floor infrastructure tools from Indian producers inside 5 years of launch — reflecting the nation’s broader “Make in India” push throughout telecom and protection industries.
The regulatory overhaul additionally intersects with India’s fast-growing satellite tv for pc IoT market. French satellite tv for pc operator Kinéis, for instance, has entered India with a give attention to low-data-rate IoT functions for agriculture, logistics, and environmental monitoring. Whereas their use circumstances differ from broadband suppliers like Starlink or OneWeb, Kinéis may even must adjust to the brand new licensing and safety necessities to scale operations within the nation.
As India strives to broaden digital entry whereas guarding in opposition to geopolitical and cybersecurity threats, the DoT’s new satcom guidelines replicate a broader shift within the function of telecom regulators — from merely fostering competitors to shaping the strategic infrastructure panorama.
For international satcom gamers, the message is obvious: India represents a serious alternative, however just for these keen and capable of meet its evolving requirements.
