In a win for Elon Musk, Scindia says no to spectrum auction pitch from Ambani, Mittal

Elon Musk. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a boost to Elon Musk’s Starlink, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated and not auctioned as sought by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal.

However, the satellite broadband spectrum will be not given free, and sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will fix a price for the resource, he told PTI in a text and video interview.

“Every country has to follow the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is the organisation that lays out the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear in terms of the spectrum being given out on an assignment basis. In addition, if you look across the world today, I cannot think of a single country that auctions spectrum for satellite,” Mr. Scindia said.

India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency for digital technology.

Also Read: Explained | How will the 5G spectrum sale impact the sector? 

Mr. Musk’s Starlink and global peers like Amazon’s Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation.

While Ambani’s Reliance Jio has been vocal about the need to allocate such spectrum through an auction to provide a level playing field to legacy operators who buy airwaves and set up infrastructure like telecom towers, Mittal last month at an industry event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present articulated the need to use bidding for such allocation.

Jio and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel — India’s largest and second-largest operators, respectively — feel that giving away the satellite broadband airwaves at a pre-decided price by the government will create an uneven playing field since they had to compete in an auction to get spectrum for their terrestrial wireless phone networks.

The two are vying for a piece of the satellite broadband segment as well.

Musk-led Starlink is demanding administrative allotment of licences in line with the global trend as it looks to tap into the world’s fastest-growing mobile telephony and internet market.

Mr. Scindia said the Telecom Act of 2023 passed in December has put the matter in ‘Schedule 1’, which means that the Satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively.

Such an allocation will be at a government-decided price, and allow foreign firms like Starlink to offer voice and data services. If the spectrum were to be auctioned, it would have made it costlier for Starlink to roll out services.

Starlink has applied for a licence to start operations in the country. Mr. Scindia, however, offered no clues on the fate of his application.

The Minister said that the regulatory process is very clear and transparent. The new Telecom Act has been passed, and the Satellite spectrum is very clearly a part of that in schedule one, he pointed out.

“…and therefore, we are open to looking at the application of any entity that wants to invest in India at this point in time. I think only one or two licenses have been given out. And whoever else wants to participate, India is surely going to welcome that,” the minister said.

Last month, Mr. Musk, in a post on X, termed the demand made by Jio for shunning sector regulator Trai’s consultation paper on satellite broadband being allocated and not auctioned as “unprecedented”, and when Mittal made the pitch in the presence of the Prime Minister, he asked if it was “too much trouble” to allow Starlink to provide internet services in India.

This was perhaps the first time that Elon Musk, whose net worth of $241 billion is more than the combined wealth of Ambani, Mittal and Gautam Adani, had spoken directly against demands for a level playing field made by the Indian firms.