Jio vs Airtel, satcom firms on auctioning satellite broadband spectrum

Reliance Jio has pushed the telecom regulator to back spectrum allocation via auctions for establishing and operating satellite gateways, a position totally in conflict with those of rival telco, Bharti Airtel and global satellite broadband operators who want such airwaves allocated through the administrative route.

A satellite gateway will be a key infrastructure resource for offering fast broadband-from-space services in India, a market being eyed by Elon Musk’s Starlink, Bharti-backed OneWeb, the Tata-Telesat combine, Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Viasat amongst others.

In its submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio has called for assignment of such spectrum only through the auction route, saying such a move would also be in step with the Supreme Court’s 2012 judgment — that had backed allocation of airwaves via transparent auctions — and also comply with the “same service, same rules’ principle.

Global satellite services providers and telco, Airtel, in their submissions to the telecom regulator, though, have strongly backed allocation of satellite gateway spectrum through “the administrative route” in line with global practices, warning that any move to auction it would cause segmentation of airwaves and drive down the efficiency of satellite broadband services drastically to lower levels.

Airtel has also suggested “a separate satellite gateway earth station authorisation under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act,” for setting up such gateways as it would involve establishment and operation of active telecom gear and spectrum allocation.

“From a legal aspect, the allocation criteria for any spectrum usable for providing communication services will have to comply with the Supreme Court judgment of February, 2012,” Jio said in its submission to TRAI. It added that “auction of all spectrum” would also ensure an equitable policy in allocation of this vital national resource that is critical for inviting new investments and protecting existing large investments by telecom service providers”.

Back in September, Jio president Mathew Oommen had said the principle of `same service, same rules and same fees’ must apply to satcom service providers, and that there is no case for zero regulation and accessing free spectrum since India is a spectrum-constrained nation. But Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal, who is also chairman of Bharti-backed global low earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator, OneWeb, has maintained that there is absolutely no case for auctioning satellite spectrum, and such a scenario would not be in tune with global norms.

In fact, both Bharti Airtel and OneWeb, have countered Jio’s views, calling on TRAI to back “allocation of spectrum for establishing satellite earth stations administratively on a case-by-case basis” as these are only used at very specific locations and not assigned nationally.

In its discussion paper on the issue, TRAI had also noted that most administrations globally “assign spectrum administratively for an earth station licence,” and (such) airwaves are also charged as a fee to cover administrative costs, though some countries even charge a licence tax.

Airtel and OneWeb’s call for “administrative allocation” of satellite gateway spectrum have been strongly backed by Amazon Internet Services, US-based Hughes, Musk’s Starlink and Tata group company, Nelco, which plans to partner with Canada’s Telesat to launch high-speed satellite broadband services in India.

A satellite gateway, typically, controls a LEO satellite constellation and also facilitates bandwidth connectivity between a satellite and the end-user of broadband-from-space services in India.

“Internationally, most administrations such as Sweden and US assign spectrum administratively for a Ground Station as-a-Service (GSaaS), and we recommend that any regulatory framework envisaged should ensure that spectrum assignments by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are carried out through administrative assignments charged at a standard pricing to avoid cost barriers to both GSaaS earth station operators and their customers,” Amazon Internet said in its submission to TRAI.

Starlink – the satellite broadband arm of Elon’s Musk’s SpaceX, in its TRAI submission said “frequency assignment policies should be designed to incentivise efficient utilization of spectrum rather than revenue maximization in the short-term that will ultimately cost consumers”. It further cautioned the regulator that “any uncertainty” on the ability to use frequencies on a long-term basis would “deter investments and limit the growth of satellite-based internet services to all Indians”.

Mukesh Ambani-led Jio, though, has told TRAI it’s “imperative to set complete ground rules for offering these services to Indian customers in a technological neutral environment,” failing which, “we may continue to face situations like recent reports on DoT being compelled to stop one of the satellite constellations to acquire customers for its beta testing in the country without obtaining an appropriate license”.

Jio has not directly named Starlink in its TRAI submission but has alluded to the company by citing a news report about the communications ministry recently barring Musk’s satellite broadband company from seeking pre-bookings for its internet-from-space service in India as it does not have a local licence.

Earlier this month, TRAI too had asked Starlink not to solicit any telecom business or collect any related fees for its upcoming broadband-from-space services in India without the necessary authorisations. The Greater India