Spectrum war comes to satellites as Jio locks horns with Starlink

“Legal recourse will be the last resort. We’ve written to the government; we’re awaiting a response,” a senior Jio official said, asking not to be identified. “Telecom players have made massive investments on setting up their networks, including buying high-cost spectrum.”

On 27 September, India’s telecom regulator issued a consultation paper suggesting administrative allocation of satellite broadband spectrum, in which the government assigns airwaves to selected applicants without an auction process as in the case of mobile wireless spectrum. While Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper and Bharti group-backed OneWeb-Eutelsat have backed the proposal, India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio has vehemently opposed it.

Last week, Jio wrote to telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, alleging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) was overlooking the critical issue of a level playing field by hinting that it was in favour of administrative allocation. However, Scindia indicated at a media briefing on Tuesday that the government is not likely to change its stance.

Jio wrote to the minister that the telecom department’s reference to Trai left the methodology of allocation open for discussion, indicating the department intended Trai to evaluate all modes of allocation, including auctions. The telco said that satellite companies offering services competing with terrestrial networks must follow the principle of same service, same rules, to prevent regulatory arbitrage.

Industry insiders noted that administrative allocation would enable foreign companies like Starlink to compete with local telcos by offering voice and data services directly to mobile phones, threatening their business. To be sure, telecom service providers have paid up over ₹4.8 trillion to buy terrestrial spectrum over the past decade.

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In the letter to Scindia, Jio said that due to advancement of technology, satellite services complement terrestrial telecom services and are hence not confined to areas that have little or no terrestrial network coverage. So, there has to be parity between the two.

A query emailed to a Jio spokesperson for comments on the matter remained unanswered.

In response to Jio’s communication to the government, billionaire Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX and its satellite broadband service Starlink, expressed concern on the possibility of satellite spectrum auctions.

“That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites,” Musk said in a post on X on Tuesday. ITU refers to the International Telecommunications Union.

India’s Telecommunications Act 2023 exempts satellite broadband airwaves from being auctioned. The service is part of the First Schedule, which specifies services where spectrum is given out administratively.

Last week, Jio wrote to telecom minister Scindia alleging that Trai was overlooking the critical issue of ensuring a level playing field

Telecom minister Scindia said in a media briefing on Tuesday evening that the Act had specified that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively.

“But that does not mean that spectrum will come without a cost. What that cost is, and what its formula would be, would only be decided by Trai. Further, satellite spectrum across the world is allocated administratively. So, India is not doing anything different, which we would do if we auction it,” he said.

The minister explained further that in terms of engineering, satellite spectrum beyond 7-8GHz is shared and, therefore, cannot be priced individually. “There are a number of issues that go into making this pricing decision, which is why globally, all countries follow a certain pricing model,” he added.

Satellite broadband uses satellites that orbit the earth for providing internet connectivity, while traditional broadband offers internet through wireless means and fibre optic cables or copper cables to provide internet through underground infrastructure.

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Speaking at the India Mobile Congress on Tuesday morning, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said satellite companies seeking to serve urban customers should operate under the same regulatory framework as telecom operators, while those not competing with telecom operators can take spectrum administratively.

“Telecom companies around the globe will take the satellite services into the remotest parts of the nations, through the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) programme and directly through themselves, and those satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban area serving elite retail customers need to take the telecom licences like everybody else, be bound with the same conditions,” Mittal said. Telcos pool 5% of their annual gross revenues into the USOF, a fund meant to be used for providing connectivity to unconnected or poorly connected areas.

Mittal added that such satellite companies need to buy the spectrum as the telecom companies buy, they need to pay the licence fee as the telecom companies do, and also secure the networks, like telecom companies do. “This is a simple solution, which can be done on a global scale, and India can again show the way in this particular regard,” Mittal said.

Airtel has not backed Jio’s plea to revise the consultation paper or its demand of outright auction of spectrum used for satellite broadband.

Some industry executives said that this was a change in stance for the telco that has always preferred allocation of airwaves administratively or without auctions for any entity that wants to offer satellite broadband services in India.

However, in a statement on Tuesday afternoon Airtel said that “there was no question of moving its stance”, noting that it had shared its position with the government six months ago as well.

“Satellite operators who want to provide services to urban areas and retail customers indeed need to go through the regular licensing process of any country, and in this case, India, to obtain a license; buy the spectrum; undertake all the obligations, including rollout and security; pay their license fees and taxes and they would be welcomed by the telecom fraternity,” the carrier said.

Therefore, mobile operators and satcom operators, who have worked in harmony for decades, can continue to do so to serve those who are still struggling to find internet connectivity, it added.

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To be sure, Airtel has not backed Jio’s plea to revise the consultation paper or its demand of outright auction of spectrum used for satellite broadband. Bharti group-backed OneWeb-Eutelsat is one of the satellite players that has asked for administrative allocation.

The telecom industry has been divided on satellite broadband spectrum, where traditional telecom operators including Jio have called for an auction to determine pricing, while satellite players have pushed for administrative allocation.

Wireless broadband and satellite broadband use different sets of airwaves or spectrum. Spectrum used for wireless broadband is auctioned as per law.

Satellite broadband is used in areas where there is little or no connectivity, while wireless broadband is used across India to provide 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice and data connectivity.