Reliance Jio vs Starlink: administrative process or auction for satellite broadband services in India?

Reliance Jio has argued that India’s telecom regulator incorrectly concluded that home satellite broadband spectrum should be allocated and not auctioned, according to a letter seen by Reuters. That intensifies Jio’s face-off with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Starlink is expected to launch broadband satellite service in India soon after receiving a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license. The Telecom Ministry has granted in-principle approval, and the Home Ministry is expected to finalize the vetting process. Starlink’s initial strategy was to provide satellite broadband directly to consumers, but the company may now only offer business services in India

Starlink and global peers like Amazon’s Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation, while Ambani – Asia’s wealthiest man who runs India’s Reliance Jio – is arguing for an auction process.

The current dispute is over an interpretation of Indian law that some in the industry say paved the way for the allocation of spectrum last year as Musk wanted.

But Reliance is arguing no provisions are in place for satellite broadband services for individual or home users, industry sources said on Sunday.

India’s telecom regulator, TRAI, is holding a public consultation, but Reliance in a private Oct. 10 letter seen by Reuters asked for the process to be started afresh as the watchdog has “pre-emptively interpreted” that allocation is the way forward. “TRAI seems to have concluded, without any basis, that spectrum assignment should be administrative,” Reliance’s senior regulatory affairs official Kapoor Singh Guliani wrote in the letter to India’s telecoms minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

TRAI has in its consultation paper indicated Indian laws mandate allocation of spectrum for such services without conducting any studies, Reliance added in its letter.

“We have requested (the) TRAI to amend the consultation paper” to ensure a level playing field, Reliance Jio said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, adding that “it is imperative upon TRAI to also consult on the methodology of assignment” of spectrum.

A senior TRAI official said on Sunday that due process is being followed and Reliance is welcome to share feedback during the consultation period. The recommendations of the watchdog will form the basis for the government’s decision on the matter. Elon Musk wants to launch Starlink in India, though a final decision on spectrum allocation remains a sticking point. Starlink argues that the administrative allotment of licenses is in line with a global trend. Reliance says an auction is needed for a level playing field as foreign players could offer voice and data services and compete with traditional players, Reuters has reported.

Reliance Jio vs Starlink: administrative process or auction for satellite broadband services in India?

References:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ambanis-reliance-lobbies-india-minister-satellite-spectrum-new-face-off-with-2024-10-13/

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