DoT makes satellite equipment testing, certification mandatory ahead of satcom services launch

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has made testing and certification of satellite equipment, such as gateways and user terminals, mandatory with India all set to start satellite communication services soon.

From August-end, only certified equipments can be used or imported by companies for satcom services in India, where such certification has been made mandatory for the first time.

On February 25, the DoT notified standards and conformity assessment measures applicable to 14 types of telecommunication equipment, including non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite equipments like integrated gateway and user terminals. The mandate comes into effect after 180 days of the notification.


Firms such as Eutelsat-OneWeb and Jio-SES combine are vying to start services at the earliest, and are awaiting allocation of spectrum, having secured all the regulatory approvals. Elon Musk-owned Starlink, too, is close to getting approval, with the company submitting the required documents to the government and the space regulator.

Once the mandate kicks-in from August-end, "no person shall import, sell, distribute or use the telecommunication equipment specified in schedule, except in accordance with the mandatory testing and certification of telecom equipment measures as specified by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre," the notification said.

The mandatory testing and certification of telecommunication equipment scheme was launched in 2019. The primary aim of the scheme was to ensure that any telecom equipment does not degrade performance of existing network, protection of users and that the telecom equipment complies with the relevant national and international regulatory standards.

The scheme was implemented in different phases with different sets of equipment taken into the mandate under each phase. The government has now notified products that will be included in phase 5 of the scheme, including satellite communications equipment.

The nascent satcom industry is set to move to newer heights in coming years with the likes of Eutelsat-OneWeb, Starlink, Jio's joint venture with Luxembourg-based satellite provider SES and Amazon Kuiper, vying to capture the market.

A fierce battle is playing out with Starlink and Amazon Kuiper on one side--who want spectrum allocation without auctions-and private telecom operators on the other. The telcos-Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea--are seeking allocation of airwaves to the highest bidder.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is expected to soon provide details around pricing of satcom spectrum. At stake is a share of the country's space economy that has the potential to hit $44 billion by 2033, and account for about 8% of the global share, from 2% now, according to space regulator IN-SPACe.

Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES combine have already got GMPCS licences besides approvals from IN-SPACe. Starlink and Amazon have got neither so far.