Reliance Jio has reiterated its support for a spectrum auction for satellite communications to ensure a level playing field, stating that shared frequency usage is a fictitious argument by satellite lobby groups for premium airwaves.
In a letter to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio mentioned that terrestrial network providers and non-terrestrial network operators are in a face-off for radio waves allocation with the former arguing a level-playing field with that of space broadband players.
Meanwhile, India’s other mobile operators believe that satcom players’ acknowledgement reinforces the need for a fair and competitive spectrum assignment method, ensuring a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial operators. The government, following the TRAI’s views, is mooting administrative allocation of frequencies to satellite operators based on a forward-looking pricing model, following the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2018.
