DoT seeks more clarity on Amazon's satcom plans

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sought more clarity from Jeff Bezos-led Amazon on its satcom licence application on critical issues like setting up of satellite gateways, data storage and transfer amongst others, officials aware of the details said.

The government is analysing Amazon-owned Project Kuiper’s application for a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) permit. The licence will allow Amazon to offer broadband, voice, and messaging services from space to individuals as well as enterprise customers.

“We have sought details from Amazon on some points like satellite gateways and data. This is part of a process as we analyse the application,” an official told ET on condition of anonymity.


Another official said once the government is satisfied with Amazon’s responses, it will take the application forward.

Amazon did not respond to ET’s queries on the details sought by the government as of press time Thursday.

Apart from DoT, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will also undertake a security check on the application. After getting all the requisite details, an inter-ministerial panel will take a final call on granting a licence to Amazon.

Amazon has also applied to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to get the regulatory approvals.

The government’s move to seek additional details from Amazon on data storage and gateways comes on the heels of Elon Musk’s Starlink agreeing to follow the terms and conditions of the licence.

Initially, Starlink had said it would follow international rules, but that contention was rejected by the Indian government. “The gateways and data of Indian consumers should be in India,” an official said.

Amazon is the fourth firm to seek such a licence in India for offering space communications services after Bharti-backed OneWeb, Reliance Jio’s satcom unit and Starlink, as competition in the still nascent Indian broadband from space market hots up.

While OneWeb and Jio’s satellite unit have been granted GMPCS licences, Starlink, too, may get one soon as it has complied with conditions.

To be sure, any entity which wants to offer satcom services in India must get approvals from IN-SPACe, a GMPCS licence and spectrum from DoT. While getting a licence and approvals make the firms eligible to offer services, they still have to wait for spectrum as the allocation mechanism is yet to be decided by the government.

When it comes to offering services, Amazon is much behind its rivals Starlink, OneWeb and Jio as its constellation is not yet ready. So far, two prototype satellites from Amazon’s Project Kuiper have been launched into space. Project Kuiper plans to have an initial constellation of 3,236 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and start offering services by the end-2024.

Industry executives feel the services from Project Kuiper in India may start from the middle of 2025 if things go as per plan. By contrast, its rivals can start offering services within weeks of spectrum being allocated by DoT as all infrastructure is in place.

Amazon had earlier told ET it is looking forward to working with the Indian government and local partners to bring “affordable broadband” across India in what it called a “long term initiative”.

“Project Kuiper will bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world, including rural and remote places in India,” an Amazon spokesperson had told ET.

As per an EY-ISpA report, India's space economy is set to rise to $13 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6%. Regulator IN-SPACe foresees an imminent space boom in India, pegging the country’s space economy to hit the $44-billion mark by 2033.