Starlink is a satellite-based Internet service.
In the United States, Elon Musk has worked hard to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. Not only did he openly support Trump, but he also donated huge amounts. After the joy over Trump’s victory, good news has come from India for Musk. Musk, owner of the satellite Internet provider company Starlink, wants to bring his service to India as well. The latest decision of the Government of India will also open the doors for them. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has made a big announcement regarding spectrum allocation for satellite broadband.
There will be spectrum allocation, not auction.
Jyotiraditya Scindia said the spectrum will be allocated for satellite broadband and will not be auctioned. Mukesh Ambani of India’s leading telecom company Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal of Airtel have also demanded it. Spectrum can be allocated as per the demands of Indian billionaire businessmen.
The Minister of Communication has made it clear that satellite broadband spectrum will not be free. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will decide the price.
Adherence to ITU principles
Scindia said that all countries have to follow the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is the organization that formulates policies for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear on the issue of spectrum being granted in assignment basis.
He further said that if we look around the world today, there is no country that auctions spectrum for satellites. India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for digital technology. Global counterparts such as Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have supported the administrative assignment.
Jio and Airtel are already demanding
Ambani’s Reliance Jio has expressed its views on the need to allocate spectrum through auctions to level the playing field with incumbents buying airwaves and setting up infrastructure like telecom towers. Mittal had highlighted the need to tender for such allocations at an industry event last month, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present.
Jio and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, India’s largest and second largest telecom operator, respectively, believe that providing satellite broadband airwaves at a price pre-fixed by the government will create an unequal competitive environment as they acquire spectrum for their terrestrial wireless telephone network. You will have to compete in an auction.
Starlink desperate to enter India
Both Jio and Airtel are also vying for a share in the satellite broadband sector. At the same time, Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, requires administrative allocation of licenses based on global trends, because it wants to enter the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone and Internet market.
