In a boost to Elon Musk's Starlink, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has announced that the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated rather than auctioned, as requested by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal.
However, Scindia clarified that the satellite broadband spectrum would not be provided free of charge, with the sector regulator, Trai, to set a price for the resource.
"Every country must follow the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the organisation that sets the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear that spectrum should be allocated on an assignment basis. Moreover, I cannot think of a single country today that auctions spectrum for satellites," Scindia explained.
India is a member of the ITU, a UN agency for digital technology. Musk's Starlink, along with global peers such as Amazon's Project Kuiper, advocates for administrative allocation.
Ambani's Reliance Jio has been vocal about the need for auctioning satellite broadband spectrum to ensure a level playing field for legacy operators who purchase airwaves and build infrastructure like telecom towers.
Mittal, at an industry event last month attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also called for bidding for such allocation.
Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel, India's largest and second-largest telecom operators, respectively, argue that allocating satellite broadband airwaves at a pre-decided price by the government would create an uneven playing field, given that they had to compete in an auction to acquire spectrum for their terrestrial wireless networks.
Both companies are seeking a share of the satellite broadband market.
Musk-led Starlink, on the other hand, is pushing for an administrative allocation of licences in line with global trends, as it aims to enter the world's fastest-growing mobile telephony and internet market.
Scindia noted that the Telecom Act of 2023, passed in December, places this matter in 'Schedule 1', meaning that the Satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively.
This allocation will be at a government-decided price, allowing foreign firms like Starlink to offer voice and data services. If the spectrum were auctioned, it would have made it more expensive for Starlink to launch services.
Starlink has applied for a licence to begin operations in India, though Scindia did not provide any indication regarding the status of this application. The minister said that the regulatory process is both clear and transparent.
Last month, Musk, in a post on X, criticised Jio’s demand to dismiss sector regulator Trai's consultation paper on satellite broadband allocation and described it as "unprecedented". When Mittal made his pitch in the presence of the Prime Minister, Musk asked if it was "too much trouble" to allow Starlink to provide internet services in India.
This was the first time Musk, whose net worth of USD 241 billion surpasses the combined wealth of Ambani, Mittal, and Gautam Adani, directly opposed the demands for a level playing field from the Indian firms.
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