From Orbit To Spectrum: Regulating Satellite- Based Internet Under India’s Telecommunications And Space Law Framework
Bhavya Singh, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National Law Institute University, Bhopal
Kostuv Keshav, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National Law Institute University, Bhopal
ABSTRACT
Satellite broadband is altering the assumptions on which spectrum regulation has traditionally rested. Non-geostationary satellite systems reuse frequencies across moving beams, depend on international coordination, and increasingly operate alongside terrestrial networks rather than within isolated frequency environments. India has responded through the Telecommunications Act, 2023, the Indian Space Policy, 2023, IN-SPACe’s authorisation framework, the National Frequency Allocation Plan 2025, and the Telecommunications (Authorisation for Provision of Principal Telecommunication Services) Rules, 2026. The resulting framework is considerably more developed than the licensing structure it replaced, yet significant questions remain concerning institutional fragmentation, interference rights, pricing, security architecture and technological convergence. This article surveys the emerging Indian practice and argues that satellite spectrum should be understood as a conditional coordination entitlement, under which access is protected but remains dependent upon coexistence with other authorised systems. It proposes four reforms: an integrated regulatory passport connecting telecommunications and space approvals, interference-based spectrum rights, a redesigned pricing and universal-connectivity framework, and technology-neutral security rules capable of accommodating wholesale satellite networks and direct-to-device services.
Keywords: spectrum regulation, telecommunication, telecom and space framework.
