In a new spat with Elon Musk’s Starlink, Reliance urged India’s telecom watchdog on Friday to reevaluate its proposal to merely distribute satellite spectrum rather than put it up for auction.
Last month, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that the government will distribute spectrum administratively in accordance with international trends, but that a final announcement regarding the distribution of spectrum would be made following Trai’s input.
After a successful launch in Africa that left local players hurt by cheap internet rates and favored the government’s approach to spectrum allocation, Musk’s Starlink has indicated interest in expanding to India.
During an open house discussion organized by Trai, senior Reliance policy executive Ravi Gandhi urged Trai to reconsider the decision, stating that the administrative spectrum allocation is “the most discriminatory technique of awarding any form of government resource.”
In a new spat with Elon Musk’s Starlink, Reliance urged India’s telecom watchdog on Friday to reevaluate its proposal to merely distribute satellite spectrum rather than put it up for auction.
Last month, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that the government will distribute spectrum administratively in accordance with international trends, but that a final announcement regarding the distribution of spectrum would be made following Trai’s input.
After a successful launch in Africa that left local players hurt by cheap internet rates and favored the government’s approach to spectrum allocation, Musk’s Starlink has indicated interest in expanding to India.
During an open house discussion organized by Trai, senior Reliance policy executive Ravi Gandhi urged Trai to reconsider the decision, stating that the administrative spectrum allocation is “the most discriminatory technique of awarding any form of government resource.”
Argument for Starlink
Parnil Urdhwareshe, an executive at Starlink India, described India’s allocation plan as “forward-looking.”
Administrative assignment is justified on a techno-economic basis, arguing that since satellite spectrum is shared, the entire satellite ecosystem is “worse off” when an exclusive auction procedure is implemented, according to Urdhwareshe.
Because their existing options are either unavailable, unreliable, or prohibitively expensive, users opt for Starlink. According to him, some critics are now openly saying that those people ought to be forced to utilize services that are either nonexistent, too costly, or too unreliable.
According to analysts, a spectrum auction would probably discourage foreign competitors because it would need far more expenditure.
