Reliance Jio has reportedly informed the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) that auction of spectrum for broadband-from-space services is gaining traction globally. Jio has also urged the TRAI to discard all demands of global satellite players for administrative allocation of airwaves for broadband from space services, and instead back spectrum allocation for such services only via auctions, in line with global trends.
In its original submission to TRAI, Jio had recommended for assignment of satellite spectrum only via auction. Furthermore, it informed that such a move would be in step with the Supreme Court’s 2012 verdict that had backed allocation of airwaves through transparent auctions alone.
Meanwhile, global satellite services providers and Bharti Airtel, in their submissions to TRAI, have said any move to auction satellite spectrum would cause segmentation of airwaves and drive down the efficiency of satellite broadband services drastically in India and make the services unaffordable.
In addition, Jio has asked TRAI to make 28 GHz spectrum fully available for 5G services. In contrary, global satellite players have been opposing this recommendation of Jio and have warned that any allocation of 28 GHz spectrum for 5G would hinder satellite operations, lead to coverage gaps and set back by several years India’s plans to boost rural broadband penetration via new age satellite communication systems.
