Satellite internet firms may see fee cut for remote areas

Discount would apply to 5% annual spectrum charge that DoT plans to levy on the firms

- Jatin Grover

The price and charges of satellite spectrum has been an issue of contention.

In India's satellite broadband boom, connecting the hardest-to-reach places may soon come with a discount.

Satellite internet service providers such as Starlink, OneWeb, Jio Satellite, and others in the fray are likely to get a 1% discount on the spectrum usage charge if a section of their users lives in hard-to-connect areas such as borders, hills, islands, and those notified by the government, according to three people in the know.

The plan to give a discount will be on the 5% annual spectrum charge, which the department of telecommunications (DoT) is looking at imposing on companies that will provide satellite internet services in the country. The companies will have to pay this charge from their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to the government.