SpaceX, Jio spar yet again over satellite spectrum allocation
- by The Hindu
- Oct 15, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 0 Likes Flag 0 Of 5
PRINT
The issue of satellite spectrum allocation resurfaced over Monday and Tuesday, as reports emerged that Reliance Jio had written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), urging that airwaves for satellite Internet services such as SpaceX’s Starlink should be allocated through auctions.
International telecom and satellite firms have urged the Union government to not follow the auction route, pointing out that unlike cellular spectrum, satellite spectrum for Internet is typically shared among multiple operators, and is not scarce.
Reacting to reports on Jio’s letter to TRAI, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that auctions for satellite spectrum would be ‘unprecedented’.
On Tuesday, Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Enterprises Ltd., said that satellite firms seeking to serve “elite retail customers” in urban areas would have to “buy” spectrum.
However, the company issued a statement hours after his remarks, clarifying that Airtel “did not support the auction of satellite spectrum.”
In past regulatory filings, Reliance Jio and SpaceX representatives have differed on this issue. Jio has argued that there is no legal basis for administratively allocating spectrum, an argument that largely relies on the Supreme Court’s 2012 judgment in the 2G spectrum case.
Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said in response to a query on Jio’s auction demand that the Telecommunications Act, 2023 already ensured that satellite spectrum allotment could only be done through the administrative mode. “That does not mean that spectrum does not come without a cost,” Mr. Scindia said. “That cost will be decided by TRAI. They have already circulated a paper, and they are empowered by the Constitution to decide the administrative pricing [for telecom authorisations].”
The Minister was speaking on the sidelines of the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA).
Mr. Scindia’s remarks indicated that the government was not considering auctions any more. “India is not doing anything different from the rest of the world,” Mr. Scindia said. “Conversely, if you do decide to auction it, then you’ll be doing something that’s different from the rest of the world. For those of us that understand a bit of engineering … satellite spectrum, because it is a high level of spectrum, beyond 7–8GHz [it] is shared. If it is shared, then how can you price it individually?,” he asked.
Tech norms
Inaugurating the WTSA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was a need for norms for technology. “There needs to be a global set of do’s and dont’s for technology,” Mr. Modi said. “Today, all the digital tools and applications operate beyond the boundaries and limitations of any country. No single country can protect its citizens from cyber threats on its own … We know from our experience, just as we have established a global framework for rules and regulations in the aviation sector, a similar framework is needed for the digital world.”
“We must ensure that our future is technically strong and ethically sound, with innovation and inclusion at its core,” Mr. Modi said.
Published
Please first to comment
Related Post
Stay Connected
Tweets by elonmuskTo get the latest tweets please make sure you are logged in on X on this browser.
Sponsored
Popular Post
Tesla: Buy This Dip, Energy Growth And Margin Recovery Are Vastly Underappreciated
28 ViewsJul 29 ,2024