New Delhi, June 29 -- Nearly four years after Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb secured India's first satellite internet licence in 2022, and after the Jio-SES joint venture and Starlink secured licences, the rollout of commercial satellite broadband services remains stuck. In fact, more than a year after the telecom regulator recommended the framework for spectrum allocation, the government is yet to finalize the operating terms.

The delay stems largely from security concerns, particularly the fact that India's internet traffic exits India, often via foreign operators such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Amazon's Leo. Even though these companies have promised to comply with security rules and demonstrated how their systems work, the governm...