Satellite communications have a symbiotic relationship with traditional telecom services

In an industry update, Bharti Airtel’s Managing Director Gopal Vittal has voiced his support for satellite communications, highlighting its symbiotic relationship with traditional telecom services. Vittal envisions these satellite services as supplementary, not competitive, due to their high-cost structure and distinct use cases such as providing connectivity in remote or mobile environments like ships or airplanes.

Vittal’s remarks came amid the passage of the Telecommunications Bill 2023 in the Lok Sabha, which brings more transparency to satellite service spectrum allocation, a move that Airtel supports but has seen opposition from rivals. However, Vittal remains confident that satellite communications will remain a complementary technology rather than a threat to existing telecom infrastructure such as fibre and wireless networks.

The Telecommunications Bill 2023 is said to introduce significant industry reforms, including simplifying the licensing process to enhance ease of business operations and introducing clearer guidelines for frequency planning. This creates a more predictable environment for telecom businesses to strategize their spectrum management, which is crucial for future planning.

The reforms in the new telecom bill simplify procedural compliances, offer a clearer roadmap for spectrum allocation, and address the rights of way issues, further marking an essential shift from cumbersome processes to streamlined operations. With a simplified authorization process, telecom companies are now poised to adopt a more agile approach in offering diverse services to their customers, reinforcing the sector’s robustness in embracing new technologies. TS2 Space