Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Thursday that the launch of satellite broadband services in India hinges on two factors: companies finalising their rollout plans and the regulator TRAI suggesting spectrum prices. Speaking to reporters at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, the Minister clarified the primary remaining hurdle. "It depends on the players in terms of how quickly they can roll out their execution strategy," Scindia stated. "There is one issue that TRAI has to still finalise—the spectrum pricing. That is the pending part, and that regulator will do".
Companies licensed and ready
Public anticipation is growing for the Satcom rollout, with major global players prepared to enter the market. The government has already granted licenses to Eutelsat OneWeb (backed by Bharti) and Jio-SES, and a Letter of Intent (LoI) has been issued to Starlink (owned by Elon Musk).
Eutelsat OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal confirmed on Wednesday that the company is eager to launch its services immediately upon receiving the final regulatory clearance.
Starlink's India market access director, Parnil Urdhwareshe, also expressed that the company is "excited" and fully focused on being ready to offer Indians a secure, compliant, and high-quality broadband experience.
Scindia on the telecom sector's future
During the press conference, Minister Scindia also commented on the broader telecom industry.
Government stake in Vodafone Idea
Addressing a question regarding debt-ridden Vodafone Idea, the Minister denied any immediate government plan to increase its stake in the firm. "As I mentioned earlier, we are 49 per cent equity holders. We do not, at this point of time, in the near future, believe in increasing our equity stake," he confirmed.
Digital economy growth target
Finally, Scindia highlighted the immense growth potential of the digital economy, which currently contributes approximately 12–14 per cent to the country's GDP. He expressed the government's ambition to significantly increase this contribution to 20 per cent over the next 10–12 years.
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