Indian satellites: Space regulator nod must from April 1 next year for use of non-Indian…

The government has issued an advisory to satellite television broadcasters to seek authorisation from India’s space regulator IN-SPACe for using non-Indian satellites from April 1 next year. In May, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) issued Norms, Guidelines and Procedures (NGP) for the implementation of the Indian Space Policy-2023 which states that only IN-SPACe authorised non-Indian satellites will be allowed to provide services in the country.

“With effect from April 1, 2025, only IN-SPACe authorised non-Indian satellites/constellations in any of the frequency bands shall be permitted to enable provisioning of their capacity in India,” the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, quoting the relevant section of the NGP document.

The existing arrangements/mechanisms/processes for provisioning of capacity in any of the frequency bands (C, Ku or Ka) from the Non-Indian Satellite operators can be extended till March 31, 2025.

Effective from April 1, 2025, only IN-SPACe authorised non-Indian GSO satellites and/or NGSO satellite constellations are permitted to provision their capacity to provide space-based communication/ broadcast services in India, it said.

The government advisory has been issued to all private television channel broadcasters/teleport operators.

It said any new capacity, additional capacity, or change of satellite on a non-Indian Satellite/Constellation needs IN-SPACe Authorisation, through an Indian Entity, to enable provisioning of its capacity to users for communication/broadcast services in Indian Territory. The advisory said that beyond March 31, 2025, only satellites authorised by IN-SPACe can provide space-based communication and broadcast services in India, and any new or additional capacity must comply with these authorisation requirements.