DCC to be wound up after satcom spectrum approval: Report | What we know
After approving the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations on satellite broadband services, the government is set to finally wind up the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) on Wednesday, The Economic Times reported.
Mint had earlier reported that the government was considering disbanding the 37-year-old DCC, which was earlier known as the Telecom Commission.
Set up in 1989, the commission has been responsible for formulating the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) policies for government approval. It also prepares the department’s annual budget and gets it approved by the government, besides implementing government policy on telecommunications.
Why a new structure
However, an overlap in the work handled by DoT members and advisers has created a need to move to a different structure, an official told Mint.
The finance ministry has also taken control of the budget approval process for projects and schemes of the telecom department.
Meanwhile, members in the technology and services verticals are due to retire in the coming days and weeks, but the government has not announced any hiring process for their replacements.
What is the structure of the DCC?
The DCC consists of a chairman, three full-time members and four part-time members from other government departments. The full-time members represent the finance, services and technology departments.
The telecom secretary serves as the ex-officio chairman. The part-time members are the chief executive officer of Niti Aayog, the economic affairs secretary, the IT secretary and the secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.
Mint had earlier reported that completely disbanding the DCC could take considerable time.
Renaming in 2018
Reports about the possible disbanding of the commission have surfaced several times over the years. In 2023, an apparent proposal to disband it did not go through as the need to continue the commission was felt.
The DCC held four meetings in 2025 to consider and approve the telecom regulator’s recommendations on several issues.
The Telecom Commission was renamed the Digital Communications Commission in 2018.
DCC’s role in satellite broadband decision
Earlier this month, the DCC approved most of TRAI’s recommendations on allocating spectrum for satellite communications services, PTI reported.
Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Industries Ltd’s Jio Satellite Communications have received permission to start satellite communications services in India. However, the services cannot be rolled out without spectrum allocation and the second stage of security clearance from security agencies.
The DoT will now approach the Cabinet for final approval on the pricing and allocation process for radio waves for satcom services.
