TRAI Proposes Satellite Links for Smartphones, With Shared Networks and Indian Security Controls

Two Routes to Connect Phones Beyond Mobile Coverage

India's telecom regulator has proposed allowing compatible smartphones to connect directly to satellites using either dedicated satellite frequencies or mobile operators' existing airwaves. The recommendations, released on November 5, 2026, would require agreements covering the relevant mobile frequency channel across all 22 licensed service areas when operators use their terrestrial spectrum.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) also proposed a separate Satellite Communication Network (SCN) Provider Authorisation. It would let companies build and operate satellite networks and sell capacity to eligible telecom and satellite service providers, while leaving those partners responsible for serving customers.

The proposed permission would cover India for up to 20 years, renewable for another period of up to 20 years. Providers would pay an authorisation fee of 8% of adjusted gross revenue, alongside applicable spectrum charges and other financial requirements.

For people living or travelling beyond conventional mobile coverage, the potential change is straightforward: a compatible phone could reach a satellite instead of depending entirely on a nearby mobile tower. Whether customers receive emergency messaging, other communications or broader connectivity would depend on the networks and services companies introduce.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will assess the recommendations and the government will decide whether to implement them. No commercial launch date, consumer price or deadline for adding satellite hardware to smartphones has been announced.

TRAI's proposal brings together three decisions that will shape any eventual service: who may operate the infrastructure, which frequencies a phone may use to reach it, and how Indian authorities will control and monitor the traffic.

One Company Runs the Network, Another Serves Customers

Satellite Communication Network-as-a-Service, shortened to SCNaaS, is the business model at the centre of the proposal. A network provider would supply infrastructure and capacity through commercial agreements to authorised companies that sell communications services.

A telecom operator could therefore purchase access to satellite infrastructure rather than establish a separate network for its own subscribers. The satellite network provider would operate the underlying system, while its partner would manage the customer relationship and provide services within the scope of its authorisation.

The SCN permission alone would not allow its holder to sell mobile or broadband services directly to consumers. A company seeking to do that would need the relevant service licence or authorisation as well.

The legal basis is Section 3(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, which concerns establishing, operating, maintaining or expanding a telecommunications network. Section 3(1)(a) separately addresses providing telecommunications services. The proposal uses that separation to create a route for shared satellite infrastructure.

DoT explained the reason in TRAI's April 2026 satellite network consultation paper: without an SCN authorisation, providers seeking to fill gaps in terrestrial coverage might each need their own satellite spectrum and parallel networks, increasing construction and operating costs.

Existing holders of eligible telecom licences and authorisations could also provide SCNaaS if they met the prescribed financial, technical, operational and security requirements. The proposed framework therefore creates a new route for infrastructure providers while also accommodating qualifying businesses already operating in telecommunications.

How the Two Satellite Connections Would Work

TRAI proposes two ways for a smartphone to reach a satellite. Both are called direct-to-device, or D2D, services because the phone communicates with the satellite without needing a conventional mobile tower for that part of the connection.

The first uses Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum in the L and S bands. These are portions of the radio spectrum allocated for satellite communications. A smartphone would need radio components and antennas that support the applicable frequencies, together with a compatible satellite network and an authorised service.

The second uses International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum already assigned to mobile operators. TRAI identified the 600, 700, 800, 900, 1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands for this approach. A satellite network provider would use an operator's assigned airwaves under an agreement, with spectrum rights remaining with that operator.

Each route also needs a connection between the satellite and a ground gateway. The phone-to-satellite connection is called the user link; the satellite-to-gateway connection is the feeder link. TRAI's consultation explains that feeder links would use Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) spectrum under either D2D model.

FSS supports links involving fixed satellite installations, while MSS serves mobile satellite communications. Within this framework, D2D extends mobile satellite communications to compatible ordinary cellular devices rather than relying solely on specialised satellite phones.

The wider recommendations also cover fixed and mobile satellite services beyond smartphones. Proposed feeder link bands include C, Ku, Ka and Q/V. Fixed service user links would use bands according to the satellite system, including whether satellites appear stationary relative to Earth or move across the sky.

Why All 22 Service Areas Matter

India assigns terrestrial mobile spectrum separately across 22 licensed service areas: 19 telecom circles and the metropolitan areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. A frequency channel held by one operator in one area may be assigned differently elsewhere.

TRAI proposes allowing one or more participating mobile operators to combine their holdings for satellite D2D, provided they collectively hold the relevant frequency channel across all 22 areas and agree to its use. A nationwide arrangement could therefore require cooperation between operators rather than an agreement with just one company.

The regulator recommends permitting this use before the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027, where countries will consider international radio spectrum matters. Its proposal would operate on a non-interference and non-protection basis: satellite services must avoid harmful interference to existing authorised services and accept interference from those services.

TRAI also proposes adding MSS as a secondary service in the identified mobile bands in the National Frequency Allocation Plan, India's map of permitted frequency uses. Proposed limits on the combined strength of satellite signals would help protect existing services. Any subsequent government decision following the 2027 conference would apply to these operations.

What Smartphone Owners Would Need

Smartphone manufacturers would be encouraged to include modules supporting the applicable MSS bands in future handsets sold in India. TRAI has recommended encouragement rather than a requirement that every handset include satellite capability.

TRAI, the statutory telecom regulator, described the proposed step in its recommendations to DoT:

After acceptance of these recommendations, the Central Government should encourage smartphone handset manufacturers to include the necessary modules for supporting the applicable MSS bands in future smartphone handsets sold in India,

A phone's ability to use satellite services depends on its hardware, supported frequencies, the satellite technology involved and the service provider's arrangements. For buyers, the useful question will be which specific handset models a launched Indian service supports.

Apple introduced Emergency SOS via satellite with the iPhone 14 series and uses Globalstar for its satellite services. Google's Satellite SOS began with supported phones in the Pixel 9 series. Availability varies by device and country, and emergency services also require local operating arrangements.

Existing iPhones and Pixel phones sold in India would need to meet the requirements of whichever service becomes available. Device support, regulatory approval and network partnerships would determine whether a feature can be activated.

Emergency satellite messaging and ordinary mobile connectivity also involve different service capabilities. Operators would need to specify what customers can actually do, which phones work and where coverage is available when announcing their products.

The Proposed Fees and Spectrum Rules

TRAI recommends an entry fee of Rs 37.5 lakh, an initial bank guarantee of Rs 45 lakh, minimum equity of Rs 60 lakh and minimum net worth of Rs 60 lakh. The proposed application processing fee is Rs 10,000. One lakh equals 100,000 rupees.

The 8% authorisation fee would apply to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), the revenue measure calculated under telecom rules after permitted adjustments. There would be no minimum authorisation fee. Equity, net worth and bank guarantees serve different financial purposes and would be assessed as separate requirements.

Government assignments of FSS or MSS spectrum would last up to five years, with a possible extension of up to two years. The annual minimum spectrum charge would be Rs 3,500 per MHz. Spectrum charges would also involve AGR, with differentiated treatment for urban and rural areas in fixed services using satellites outside geostationary orbit.

Operators using their existing IMT spectrum for satellite user links would face no additional spectrum charge for that use. Existing charges on their assigned mobile spectrum would continue. Satellite feeder links would still require appropriate spectrum arrangements.

The proposed network authorisation can last four times as long as the initial maximum spectrum assignment: 20 years compared with five. Companies would therefore need to plan for spectrum renewal during the life of their network permission.

TRAI also proposes keeping spectrum terms, including pricing, unchanged for five years from notification of the policy framework, potentially extendable by two years. Eligible service providers could deduct documented and verified SCNaaS payments from applicable gross revenue when calculating AGR, addressing how payments between infrastructure and service companies enter the fee calculation.

Administrative Assignment and the Auction Debate

TRAI recommends administrative assignment of FSS spectrum for feeder links. Administrative assignment of FSS or MSS spectrum for user links would depend on the partner's services qualifying under the First Schedule of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

Administrative assignment means the government assigns frequencies under prescribed conditions rather than selecting a winner through bidding. Entry 14 of the First Schedule covers connectivity aboard aircraft and ships. Entry 16 includes specified satellite services, including MSS in the L and S bands.

TRAI's official May 2025 spectrum recommendations explain its reasoning: fixed satellite spectrum is typically shared, whereas terrestrial mobile spectrum is assigned on an exclusive basis. The regulator used that difference to support different charging treatment.

Jio has favoured an auction for spectrum used specifically for D2D. The policy disagreement concerns how competing services should obtain frequencies and what they should pay when satellite and terrestrial networks can serve similar customers.

The May 2025 recommendations proposed spectrum charges of 4% of AGR for specified fixed and mobile satellite services, subject to a minimum, with an additional annual charge of Rs 500 per urban subscriber for fixed services using satellites outside geostationary orbit. Those earlier service recommendations provide context for the new network framework's separate 8% authorisation fee.

Indian Gateways and Controls on Traffic

SCN providers would have to locate network operation, maintenance and control facilities in India. The proposed obligations would extend to connected user terminals belonging to their authorised partners.

Traffic originating or terminating in India would pass through gateways in the country. Providers would need to support lawful interception, real time traffic monitoring and restrictions on routing Indian traffic through foreign gateways or copying it to foreign networks.

Two user terminals would also have to communicate through a satellite earth station gateway rather than exchange traffic directly through satellites alone. A phone could reach a satellite directly, while the wider communication would still follow the required ground routing.

Providers would submit each gateway's location and technical details to the government or its designated agency before establishing it. Authorities could direct actions relating to gateway establishment, require interference monitoring tests and order measures to reduce interference. Networks would also need the ability to block satellite signals in sensitive areas notified by the government.

Attempts to access a network through an unregistered terminal would have to be reported with terminal and location information. TRAI has left the specific detection technology, protocol and authentication mechanism to providers.

India was already considering a separate satellite traffic security appliance in October, potentially located at customer premises or ground stations. That discussion followed authorisations for OneWeb India Communications, JIO Satellite Communications and Starlink Satellite Communications, with security clearance dependent on demonstrating compliance with licence conditions.

Companies Prepare as Government Reviews the Plan

Starlink, Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications are among the businesses seeking a place in India's satellite connectivity market. Amazon Leo and Tata's Nelco could also participate in arrangements enabled by the proposed framework, subject to the required permissions.

Airtel's association with OneWeb offers a possible partnership route. Vodafone Idea has a strategic arrangement with AST SpaceMobile for satellite cellular connectivity in India. Starlink uses mobile operators' spectrum for its D2D model in other markets.

Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite had yet to launch commercial satellite broadband services in India at the time of the November recommendations, while security compliance, final clearances and spectrum allocation were still being addressed.

The policy process has developed through several stages:

• July and October 2024: DoT references sought recommendations on network authorisation and specifically satellite networks.
• May 9, 2025: TRAI issued recommendations on spectrum terms for specified satellite commercial services.
• April 2026: TRAI issued its SCN consultation paper, with comments due May 6 and counter-comments due May 20.
• July 2026: An open house discussion followed submissions from 31 stakeholders and counter-comments from 12.
• November 5, 2026: TRAI released the SCN and D2D recommendations for government consideration.

For telecom operators, the proposal creates a possible way to extend coverage through purchased satellite capacity. For customers in places with weak or absent mobile coverage, access will depend on government decisions followed by compatible devices, completed networks and commercial service launches.

Key Points

• TRAI proposes smartphone satellite connectivity through dedicated MSS bands or operators' existing mobile spectrum.
• SCN providers would sell network capacity to authorised service providers, with separate permission needed to serve consumers directly.
• Mobile spectrum arrangements would need the relevant channel covered across all 22 licensed service areas.
• The proposed authorisation lasts up to 20 years, while initial spectrum assignments last up to five years.
• Indian gateways, domestic network control, traffic monitoring and security compliance would be required.
• The government must decide on implementation before the proposed framework takes effect.