GMPCS Licensing: Government Calls Satcom Rules Non-Discriminatory

The correct answer is three. The Ministry of Communications stated that telecom licences have been granted to three Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite operators whose services rest on non-geosynchronous satellite orbits, and that all three are at broadly the same regulatory stage because the security assessment of each is still in progress. Option A, one, is wrong because the ministry spoke of more than a single licensee and said the framework treats every applicant alike; a single licensee would also make the question of discriminatory treatment between operators meaningless. Option B, two, is wrong for the same reason, as the ministry's count of licensed satellite operators is higher than that. Option D, six, is wrong because no such number appears in the government's statement; the ministry named a smaller set of licensees, each of which must demonstrate compliance with the security conditions of its licence before it may ask for spectrum to be assigned. Candidates should tie the number three to the GMPCS licences and to the fact that the security assessment is under way for every one of them.

The correct answer is demonstrate compliance with the security conditions of its licence. The Ministry of Communications explained that every satellite communication licensee is required under the terms and conditions of its licence to show that it meets the security conditions, the purpose being to ensure that the services provided satisfy security requirements and keep all users and their data safe. This security assessment is in progress for each of the licensed operators, and a company may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum only when the process is completed in its case. Option A is wrong because a stock exchange listing is nowhere a condition for spectrum in this framework. Option C is wrong because the authorisation concerns providing services in India, not where the satellites are launched from; the licensees use non-geosynchronous orbit constellations. Option D is wrong because no subscriber threshold is prescribed before spectrum assignment; the gate is the security assessment, not commercial scale.

The correct answer is non-geosynchronous satellite orbit. The Ministry of Communications said the telecom licences for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite services were granted for satellite communications based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit. Satellites in such orbits do not remain above a fixed point on the earth, so a constellation of them is used, with one spacecraft handing a user over to the next as they pass overhead. Option A is wrong because the statement does not describe these licensed services as geostationary; a geostationary satellite appears fixed over one spot above the equator, which is the opposite of what non-geosynchronous means. Option C is wrong because a lunar transfer orbit is used to send spacecraft towards the Moon and has nothing to do with providing telecom services to users in India. Option D is wrong because a geosynchronous transfer orbit is only a temporary path used to raise a satellite towards a geosynchronous slot, not the operating orbit named for these licensed satellite communication services.