Telcos to call for Aligned satcom spectrum pricing
telcos will likely present a united demand before the regulator that new satcom players pay market-determined prices for spectrum – the single biggest capex item for telcos – when they compete with terrestrial network providers. Telcos have collectively spent `5.5 lakh crore to acquire this spectrum.
Global biggies such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper are eyeing broadband services in India. Multiple people aware of developments told ET that Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will be demanding that if satcom players are allowed to offer services in urban areas, serving retail or enterprise customers, a level playing field with terrestrial networks must be ensured.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts the top three as members, is expected to make a submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for aligning and benchmarking prices, industry executives said. COAI had not submitted comments until publication of this report.
October 25 was the last date to submit comments and COAI was in the process of doing that. All three telecom operators are expected to communicate the same stance individually to Trai too, executives told ETseparately. The telcos believe that advanced satellite systems, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper, have enabled satellite operators to offer speeds comparable to terrestrial networks. The telcos further may submit that since mobile satellite service band spectrum would be assigned on an exclusive basis the
