Telecom Bill 2023 Passed, To Give Way To Spectrum Allocation For Satellite Internet Services Without Auction

The Parliament has approved the telecom bill to replace century-old rules, in a bid to modernise connectivity and adopt new services, including satellite broadband.

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Telecommunications Bill 2023 through a voice vote, following its passage in the Lok Sabha a day before. This legislation enables spectrum allocation for satellite-based Internet services without the requirement of participating in auctions, benefiting companies like Airtel-backed OneWeb, Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper in the country.

The Parliament has approved the telecom bill to replace century-old rules, in a bid to modernise connectivity and adopt new services, including satellite broadband. Notably, this move comes just months before the upcoming general elections.

India has more than 1.17 billion telephone connections and 881 million Internet subscribers.

The telecom bill permits spectrum allocation for satellite-based services without the need of participating in auctions, a move in favour of satellite broadband services in the world's most populous country. OneWeb, Starlink and others have advocated for an "administrative process" over auctions for spectrum allocation, the report added. Despite initial opposition from Reliance Jio, which aims to compete with the global players using its native satellite broadband service, it now aligns with the administrative model for spectrum allocation.

The bill, which eliminates the regulations that have been in place since the telegraph era dating back to 1885, gives the government with the authority to use and manage telecommunications services and networks, as well as track traffic data in the interest of national security, the report said.

The bill was introduced by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and includes a focus on creating robust telecom networks through a well-defined Chapter on RoW, including granting of RoW in a non-discriminatory manner and clarifying that this network shall not be considered for the purposes of tax, levy, cess, fees or duties on that property, said a report by IANS.

"It is very comprehensive and very big structural reforms have come from the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. The legacy of the old scammers in the telecom sector will be left behind, and arrangements will be made through this bill to make the telecom sector a sunrise sector," Vaishnaw was quoted as saying.

In a bid to reduce fraud, the bill also mandates biometric authentication for customers and limits the amount of SIM cards any subscriber can use.

It also includes civil penalties of up to $12,000 for violating specified sections and up to $6,00,400 for violating the terms and circumstances defined in the law.