Satcom Spectrum Tiff: Jio Vs Elon Musk's Starlink, Amazon's Kuiper

The debate on auction versus allocation of satellite spectrum has once again been ignited, with Airtel honcho Sunil Bharti Mittal weighing in the favour of rival Jio and demanding that satellite firms cough up money for spectrum.

Interestingly, Mittal chose to do so at the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress and the International Telecom Union's World Telecom Standardisation Assembly, while addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan Martin.

The ITU is the global body that regulates all satellite communications, and that spectrum must be shared with satellite firms has also been designated by the same body.

While Airtel joined Jio's lobbying position in wanting satellite firms to be treated at par with telecom operators, it was the entry of billionaire Elon Musk, who runs Starlink, a satellite internet provider, that invoked reactions.

"That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites," Musk wrote on X, another platform he owns. Musk was reacting to a news story on Airtel and Jio's demands.

The likes of global satellite broadband firms like Musk's Starlink have been eyeing India as a potential market, with current regulations allowing administrative allocation and not auctions, like telecom operators have to undergo.

India's Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, stood by the current rules, stating that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively as decided by the government.

"Telecom Act 2023 clearly said that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. India is not doing anything different in allocating satcom spectrum administratively. Conversely, if India were to hold auctions, then we’d be doing things differently. Satellite spectrum is shared spectrum; it cannot be priced differently. TRAI will come up with the best pricing for allocating satellite spectrum," he said, fielding questions on Mittal and Musk's comments.

Responding to news of Scindia's comments on a possible status quo on the matter, Musk wrote "much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink (sic)."

Airtel, too, clarified on Tuesday that it isn't against satcoms operating in India, but the playing field should be level. Further, it said it is rooting for auctions for urban areas specifically, not all zones.

Airtel itself is in joint venture with Eutelsat OneWeb and has already set up two ground stations, one in Gujarat and the other in Tamil Nadu, to secure all communications arising out of India on the satcom network as it awaits the green light to commercially provide such services.

If the government decides to change its stance on satcom allocation, it will have to amend its Telecom Act, as well as go against globally declared standards by the ITU. With India's two largest operators lobbying hard for auctions, the telecom sector is set to witness interesting times.