Broadband Forum India (BIF) on Tuesday has requested the government to include Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellites (GMPCS) in the latest draft Telecommunications (Spectrum Assignment by Administrative Process) Rules, 2026 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Addressing a letter to the Secretary, DoT, the think tank has also requested for mapping GMPCS to the appropriate Annexure(s) in Schedule I for the purposes of spectrum assignment, applicable terms and conditions, and determination of spectrum charges.

According to a Gazette notification last week, Satellite companies will get spectrum administratively unlike through auction for other telecom spectrum and process is fixed with an annual fee of ₹30,000 to ₹50-lakh, based on the service type and there is a non-refundable application fee of ₹1,000 too.

BIF said Section 3(2) of the Draft Rules provides that the entities specified in Schedule I of the Draft Rules, shall be eligible for assignment of spectrum through the administrative process.

Schedule I includes various satellite-based services such as Teleports, Television Channels, Direct-to-Home (DTH), Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS), Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG), VSAT (Captive and Commercial), National Long Distance (NLD), International Long Distance (ILD), and Mobile Satellite Service in specified bands.

“However, a comparison of Schedule I of the Draft Rules with Entry 16 of the First Schedule to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 indicates that GMPCS, which is expressly included in the parent Act, has not been correspondingly reflected in the Draft Rules, though all other Satellite based services - Commercial and Non-Commercial, have been included,” the BIF pointed in the letter.

BIF argued that the First Schedule to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 specifically identifies GMPCS as one of the satellite-based services for which spectrum assignment is to be undertaken through the administrative route. The inclusion of GMPCS in the Act is explicit and unambiguous, placing it alongside other satellite services covered under Entry 16, it added.

It said that as the draft Rules have been framed to operationalise the provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, it was reasonably expected that all categories specifically identified in the First Schedule of the Act are appropriately reflected in the corresponding Rules.

“We further note that GMPCS does not appear to have been included in Annexure VII or Annexure IX of the Draft Rules. Consequently, unlike all other satellite-based services covered under Entry 16 of the First Schedule, there is presently no explicit framework within the Draft Rules dealing with the applicable terms, conditions, methodology for spectrum assignment, or spectrum charges in relation to GMPCS,” the BIF said.

Therefore, given the increasing importance of satellite-based commercial connectivity and the significant role envisaged for GMPCS services in expanding telecommunications access across the country, particularly in remote and underserved areas, the industry think tank submitted that it was crucial to ensure complete consistency between the Act and the operational framework being established through the Rules.

Published on June 23, 2026