New Delhi: Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said Tuesday that spectrum for satellite communication services will be allocated administratively, and not auctioned, even as telecom giants Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have pitched for the auctioning of these frequencies.
During a press conference on the sidelines of the 2024 India Mobile Congress (IMC)—a technology event dubbed ‘Asia’s largest tech fest’ being held from Tuesday (15 October) through Saturday (19 October) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi—the minister said that as mentioned in Schedule 1 of the Telecommunications Act of 2023, which was passed in December of last year, satellite communications spectrum would be allocated administratively.
“Now, that does not mean that the spectrum comes without a cost,” Scindia said.
“What that cost is and what the formula of that costing is going to be will not be decided by you or me, it will be decided by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). And there is a paper that has already been circulated by TRAI. The regulator has been empowered by the Constitution to decide what that administrative pricing is going to be. And I am very confident that they will come up with the best pricing that should be adopted provided that it is being given in an administrative manner,” the minister added.
At the inaugural session of the IMC, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present, Bharti Enterprises chairman and founder Sunil Bharti Mittal pitched for auction of airwaves, which are radio frequencies used for broadcasting. The same demand was made by Reliance Jio, a rival of Bharti Airtel.
‘Satellite spectrum allocated administratively worldwide’
Global satellite Internet constellation firms like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper favour administrative allocation.
Emphasising that satellite spectrum is allocated administratively worldwide, Scindia said 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.”
Saying that satellite spectrum is a shared spectrum, he added, “If the spectrum is shared, then how can you price it individually? So, I think there are a number of issues that go into making that decision, which is why globally all countries in the world have followed a certain model. And India is doing pretty much the same.”
During the inaugural session, Mittal said that telecommunication companies around the globe have done seminal work in connecting the world. “They will take satellite services into the remotest parts of nations through the USO (Universal Service Obligation) programme and directly through themselves.”
He added that satellite companies which are ambitious about providing their services in urban areas with elite retail customers need to obtain telecommunication licences like others, and abide by the same conditions. “They need to buy the spectrum just as telecom companies buy. They need to pay the licence fees and also secure their networks like telecom companies do.”
This was followed by a letter to Scindia from Reliance Jio, opposing TRAI’s recommendations to allocate satellite services spectrum administratively, instead of auctioning.
Meanwhile, responding to a post on X about Reliance Jio’s demand for auctioning of satellite spectrum, Musk said such a move would be “unprecedented”.
“That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as shared spectrum for satellites,” Musk wrote.
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That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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