Telcos and tech companies have submitted differing counter-comments in response to a consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), titled “Assignment of Spectrum for Space-based Communication Services.”
Amazon, OneWeb and Starlink have openly dismissed Reliance Jio’s call for the ‘same service, same rules’ principle for allotment of satellite spectrum, claiming it to be a completely misleading approach towards the spectrum policy. They stated that making the satellite service model into a ‘same service, same rule’ idea will risk stifling the potential that satellite services hold for achieving digital inclusivity in India. Amazon commented that due to the fact fixed satellite service (FSS) and terrestrial mobile service (MS) systems are fundamentally different in their use of spectrum, the services provided through these systems are not similar either, which would make the ‘ same rules’ to both results in unfair and unequal treatment.
OneWeb has supported the view and stressed that spectrum policy needs to embrace the principle of the right rule for the right service. Jio in its latest submission, refuted the satellite industry’s key contention that the spectrum for satellite broadband services is a globally shared resource that can not be assigned exclusively. The company also cited Article 5 of the International Telecom Union (ITU) Radio Regulations, saying that the rules state the members have the ability to assign spectrum resources as long as they ensure no harmful interference to services provided in other countries. Satellite Communications Ltd (JSCL) also demolished the satellite industry’s major claim that exclusive spectrum allotment is not feasible for broadband from space services. In this statement made to the TRAI, JSCL also added that the analysis of current assignments awarded to different DTH, teleport and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) service providers reveals that each service provider has been assigned exclusive frequencies at various orbital positions/ angular sector. While Starlink remains averse to auctioning of satellite spectrum, it suggested an alternate auction model in its counter-comments, where potential bidders commit a percentage of their annual revenue as a spectrum value fee in lieu of upfront currency bids.
Meanwhile, Airtel also individually rejected Jio’s claim about Saudi Arabia and Thailand having successfully auctioned satellite spectrum, adding that making a single instance of mobile satellite spectrum auctioning in Saudi Arabia as a universal model is disingenuous and overlooks the broader international trend against spectrum auctions for satellite services.
