Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that India will administratively allocate spectrum for satellite communication, as laid down in the Telecommunications Act, 2023. This is being seen as a blow to Reliance Jio, which has been calling for an auction of the spectrum, and a win for the likes of Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper. “For satcom, spectrum will be allocated administratively… that does not mean that spectrum does not come without a cost. What that cost is and what the formula of that costing is going to be… will be decided by the TRAI,” Scindia said during a press briefing at the India Mobile Congress. “Satellite spectrum across the world is allocated administratively. So India is not doing anything different from the rest of the world. Conversely, if you do decide to auction it, then you will be doing something which is different from the rest of the world… Satellite spectrum is shared spectrum. If spectrum is shared, then how can you price it individually,” he added. The to and fro in the sector has set up a high-profile competition between deep pocketed rivals and has pit Reliance Jio against the likes of Elon Musk’s Starlink. Earlier this month, Reliance Jio had written to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) challenging the notion that satellite spectrum should be allocated administratively, calling for an auction process. However, in response to the development, Musk said, “That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites”. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, which has a controlling stake in the satellite communications company OneWeb on Tuesday said that companies looking to offer satellite services in urban areas and to retail customers should buy spectrum and will be bound by the same conditions. “And those satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban areas, serving retail customers, just need to pay the telecom licences like everyone else. They are bound to the same conditions. They need to buy the spectrum as the telecom companies do, and need to pay the licence as the telecom companies do, and also secure the networks of the telecom companies,” Mittal said. His comments were seen as a departure from the earlier stance taken by the Bharti group. In response to a 2021 consultation by the TRAI on a licensing regime for satellite communications, OneWeb had “strongly recommended” to take the administrative allocation route and charge a fee for it “in order to promote investment and make sure competitive prices are available to the market at the end”. OneWeb India Communications is currently 100% owned by Bharti Airtel and holds a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) licence given by the telecom department, which is required to roll out satellite internet services in India. OneWeb’s UK holding company has already put in an FDI application to the Indian government. However, Airtel on Tuesday clarified that there was no change in its stance. “Satellite operators who want to provide services to urban areas and retail customers indeed need to go through the regular licensing process of any country, and in this case, India, to obtain a licence; buy the spectrum; undertake all the obligations, including rollout and security; pay their licence fees and taxes and they would be welcomed by the telecom fraternity. Therefore, mobile operators and satcom operators, who have worked in harmony for decades, can continue to do so to serve those who are still struggling to find internet connectivity,” it said in a statement.
