DoT moves incl waiving NOCC fees to lead to big savings: BIF

Satellite and tech companies have said the Department of Telecommunications’ recent decisions to waive annual network operation & control centre (NOCC) charges and also remove mandatory performance verification testing (MPVT) of satellite antennae will ring in significant savings for satellite service and broadcast players.

“DoT’s recent actions on NOCC charges and the removal of MPVT charges, paving the way for self-verification will lead to an estimated annual savings of about Rs 120 crore for the satellite and broadcast communication sectors, including all players who are liable to pay,” the Broadband India Forum (BIF) said on Monday.

Till recently, satcom operators had to pay NOCC charges for hiring satellite transponder capacity. The levy, equivalent to Rs 21 lakh per transponder per year, was regardless of the frequency band of operation or nature of satellite capacity.

The BIF counts satellite biggies such as Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Hughes, Inmarsat amongst its members along with big tech firms like Tata Consultancy Services, Cisco, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook-owner Meta and Qualcomm.

T V Ramachandran, president of the BIF, said the latest satcom reforms by the DoT will boost the overall ease of doing business (EoDB) and the digital connectivity quotient, including provisioning of broadband to the remotest and most inaccessible zones in an efficient and expeditious manner. “Waiver of annual NOCC charges for both broadcasters and VSAT licensees and the removal of MPVT charges will benefit both broadcast and satcoms industry, help roll out services in an affordable manner as there will be savings on the testing front.”

The forum said DoT’s decision to enhance the scope of VSAT and other licenses to include user terminals on moving platforms and satellite-based M2M/IoT devices would pave the way for enhanced use of satellite-based services in logistics, Railways and help attract more investment and create more jobs.

It added that DoT’s call to also allow completely automated & online processing of all applications through the Saral Sanchar portal would enhance ease of doing business.

Ramchandran said the timing of the latest satcom reforms are significant as powerful policy developments are underway, including the ongoing liberalisation programme of the Department of Space (DoS) and INSPACe, coupled with the forthcoming Space Bill along with the planned opening up of the space sector to enhance the involvement of the private sector into space activities.

India’s much awaited Spacecom policy is expected to allow LEO (low earth orbit) and MEO (medium earth orbit) satellite constellations to operate in the country, which would also pave the way for satellite players to secure landing rights and set up local gateways to operate. At present, LEO/MEO constellations are not allowed in India.

Competition has intensified in India’s relatively nascent broadband-from-space services segment — expected to be worth $13 billion by 2025. The likes of Reliance Jio, Bharti-backed OneWeb, Nelco of the Tata Group, Elon Musk’s Starlink and Canada’s Telesat are looking to launch satellite broadband services in India.

OneWeb and Jio have already received the key GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit while Starlink has recently applied for the same to launch internet-from-space services in India.