Department of Telecom eliminates NOCC tariff for all telecom licensees

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has eliminated Network Operation and Control Centre (NOCC) tariff, for the use of space segments for all services including VSAT services, satellite telephony, and broadband among the others, permits for which are required to be obtained from the DoT. This step by the department is expected to give forthcoming satellite broadband firms a boost.

“There shall be no NOCC charges for use of space segment for all DoT licensees for commercial and captive VSAT services, GMPCS (Satellite phone service), NLD (National long distance) and other telecom licensees holding unified or standalone license. This order shall be effective from April 1, 2022,” announced DoT in an order issued on May  6, 2022.

What is NOCC and Its functions?

The India National Satellite System (INSAT) initiative is a collaboration of four Indian government departments: Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Department of science and Technology.

The Network Operations Control Center (NOCC) was established under the Department of Telecommunication, to control transmissions from the ground segment (satellite earth stations). The NOCC provides network permissions before any earth station accessing satellite begins operations, as well as monitoring and on-line operational support.

The NOCC tariff was implemented in 2003, with the Department of Telecom charging Rs. 21 lakhs per transponder per year for 36MHz of spectrum on a pro-rata basis. In addition, the government imposed Rs.6000 for each antenna experiment used to receive and transmit signals.

Some of the major functions of NOCC as specified by the Department of Telecommunications include:

• All satellite-based services in India are under online operational control, coordination and monitoring by NOCC
• Managing contingency operations in the event of a transponder or satellite failure(s).
• Collaboration with international satellite operators like Thaicom, Intelsat, AsiaSat, PanamSat, Singtel, APSTAR, New Skies which are providing space segment to Indian satellite communication users.
• Nearly all the service providers for planning/ commissioning / operation of satellite based Networks receive guidelines from NOCC.

  Will exemption of NOCC tariff help the sector be more feasible?

With the removal of NOCC tariff for telecom service providers, The Indian satellite TV for PC broadband market which is attracting both foreign and domestic players, is expected to accelerate in feasibility. Reduced costs not only attract more investments in the sector but also prove to be a major contributing factor, towards enhancing the ease of doing business.

Responding to the removal of NOCC tariff, Lt. Gen AK Bhatt, Director General Indian Space Association said, “We heartily welcome DoT amending the unified License to allow satellite based IoT services, land mobility services and also the removal of NOCC monitoring charges. We believe that these progressive policy steps are in the right direction and showcase the government’s commitment in supporting the growth of digital communication by leveraging the potential and capability of satellite communication industry.”

At present, Elon Musk’s Starlink and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s OneWeb are the distributors aiming to use low-earth orbit satellites to launch satellite TV for PC internet providers in India .Realiance jio had said in February that it has formed a joint venture with Luxembourgish satellite-based content material connection provider SES, with aspirations to deliver satellite TV to PC broadband  providers across India.