Auction vs Allocation: War escalates between companies over satcom spectrum
Satellite companies such as Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Canada’s Telesat and US-based Hughes want allotment via the administrative route as is the global practice. But Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea say airwaves should be auctioned to ensure a competitive landscape.
The ball is now in the court of the telecom regulator, which recently concluded an intense consultation process, culminating in a marathon open-house discussion on July 14 that lasted almost 12 hours with about 30 speakers from across the world pressing their views. Throughout the consultation, the big satellite entities warned that auctions would make broadband from space services unaffordable in India and deprive millions, particularly in rural and underserved regions, of high-speed satellite internet connectivity.
After the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) makes its recommendations, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will take the final call.Market potential The stakes are high. EY estimates India’s space economy will grow to $13 billion by 2025 from an annual revenue opportunity of $1 billion now.
Global players such as Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, OneWeb and Telesat among others are all eyeing the nascent satellite broadband market in India. Nearly 75% of rural India doesn't have broadband access and many locations still lack cellular or fibre connectivity.
As a result, satellite systems that can be rolled out a lot quicker than terrestrial telecom networks in rural and remote regions are seen as a viable alternative to connect the unconnected. The DoT has already issued global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) permits to OneWeb and
. Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
