Telecom bill rings in slew of changes

Spectrum for satcom services and 19 others including TV broadcast, DTH can be allocated outside auctions

- Gulveen Aulakh & Shouvik Das

The Union government will allocate satellite broadband spectrum, mandate biometric authentication of new telecom users, regulate encryption standards for internet communications and wield the power to take over telecom networks at times of war, the new telecom bill tabled in Lok Sabha proposed.

The long-awaited bill, which replaces three existing laws—the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950—however, kept messaging apps outside its purview and did not seek to dilute the powers of the telecom regulator, as proposed in the draft legislation.

The government will allocate satellite broadband spectrum instead of auctioning it, a move that will help Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications, Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper launch services quicker. The government will issue a global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) licence for such services.